An Earlier Heaven (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by sammy1026
Summary: Sometimes it feels like everything is happening at once.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: Mari and ilna, I am completely out of superlatives to describe the two of you. Even the awesomest awesome that ever awesomed doesn't cover it anymore. You guys are amazing. In addition to being kick-ass writers you're smart, funny, dedicated, hard-working and committed to not only keeping the REAL World going but making sure the level of quality, continuity and characterization is first-rate. Every day you inspire me to work harder on my writing. And every day each of you says or writes something that makes me real life laugh out loud, something that makes me think, and often something that makes me cry. I hope I have even a small slice of the ability to make people feel with my writing the way the two of you make me feel with yours. Thanks girls, here's to a good long run in the REAL World.**

**Also thanks to Sandy who is smart and funny and wickedly sarcastic and has been a good friend for over a decade. Her ability to know when to pull me out of a rabbit hole and when to say "hey there might be something interesting in there, let's go together" is invaluable. Through ten years of fandom craziness she's been there, and I'm a better person and a better writer because of that.**

**And finally to all our AMAZING readers—THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your support and enthusiasm for the REAL World has been overwhelming. Every review, email, tweet, and Tumblr comment is appreciated more than you can imagine. You guys are the best and an absolute pleasure to write for. And to all the Guest reviewers who I am unable to respond to personally—let me say a big THANK YOU to you as well.**

**We'll be tweaking our M-W-F posting schedule once again during the posting of this story. It is eight chapters long and I'll be posting one chapter each day now through next Friday.**

* * *

**An Earlier Heaven (1/8)**

"_**A happy family is but an earlier heaven." George Bernard Shaw**_

**Wa'ahila Ridge State Recreation Area**

**Honolulu**

**Thursday 6:30 A.M.**

"What the hell happened to this guy?" Danny grimaced as he looked at the mutilated remains of what appeared to be a middle-aged man lying under a sprawling Portia tree at the far end of the State Recreation Area just feet away from where the ground dropped off steeply to the ocean below. "It looks like someone fed his body through a wood chipper."

Dr. Max Bergman looked up from his position crouching amidst the bloodstained twigs and stones that covered the area immediately surrounding the body, making every attempt not to disturb any evidence that might be needed later. He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the rising sun and offered his preliminary findings. "It definitely appears that the disarticulation of the corpse was achieved through mechanical means," he reported. "The damage to the remaining bone structure strongly indicates the use of a motorized implement such as a chain saw or perhaps a circular saw. The way the flesh is torn here," he indicated the right wrist, "and here," he pointed to the left hip where the leg had been removed, "clearly indicates that whatever was used was not especially sharp. As you can see by ragged edges and missing chunks … "

Danny held his hands up in front of him in the universal sign of please stop. "Ok … enough … it was a rhetorical question," he winced. "Can we hold off on the gory details until I've had at least one cup of coffee."

"I didn't offer the information unbidden, Detective," Max pointed out matter-of-factly. "You asked."

"He has a point," Steve nodded in agreement. "You did ask."

"Well then can one of you two geniuses riddle me this," Danny inquired as he took a few steps and peered over the steep cliff that dropped off to the rocky ocean shore below. "If the killer had walked another five steps he … or she I guess … could have tossed the body down the cliff and who knows when it would have been found. Why was it left out here in plain sight?"

"Perhaps he or she wanted the victim to be found?" Max posited. "They might be trying to make some sort of statement."

"Maybe the body was heavier than they thought and they couldn't carry it any further so they just dropped it under the first tree they came to," Steve tossed out.

"The one thing we can be almost certain of," Max said steadfastly, "is that the victim did not walk here under his own power."

Steve and Max looked at Danny expectantly.

"I'm done with both of you," he huffed as he turned on his heel. "I'm going to find the first officer on the scene and get the name of the person who discovered the body."

Steve chuckled as he watched Danny stalk off down the gravel path in search of information.

"I hope Detective Williams isn't upset," Max said as he watched Danny go.

"He'll be fine, Max. Don't worry about it," Steve said. "Anything else you want to tell me about this guy?"

"I won't know the cause of death for sure till we get back to the morgue and I can perform a full autopsy, Commander, but my initial examination indicates that the victim is missing his left leg, part of his right foot, his right hand the left side of his jaw and his left eye and ear." Max stood and faced Steve. "The bruising under his eye socket indicates that the eyeball itself may have been removed manually."

Steve grimaced. He enjoyed teasing Danny about being squeamish but he had to admit that some of the more graphic details were a little hard to take in the early morning hours. "Thanks, Max. Just get me your preliminary report as soon as possible."

"I'll have it on your desk by lunch."

"I appreciate it," Steve said as Catherine and Kono walked towards them through the dew covered grass peppered with yellow markers indicating evidence that needed to be collected by the HPD forensic team.

"We followed the blood trail all the way to the parking lot," Kono said as she indicated the gravel area about one hundred yards away currently occupied by three or four private cars and a dozen emergency response vehicles. "We found what we assume is the dead guy's car but there's no sign of …" she waved her hand towards the body which was now encased in a blue rubber coroner's bag, "well … the rest of him."

"Hey Max, any chance this damage was done by some kind of animal?" Steve asked as the medical examiner oversaw final preparations to remove the body from the scene.

"No chance, Commander." Max shook his head definitively. "There are no teeth or claw marks, no scratches, no signs of animal activity whatsoever."

Steve scanned the area for trash receptacles. "Kono, grab a couple of these HPD guys and check all the garbage cans and dumpsters in the park. If the rest of the body is here I want to find it before it ends up at the dump. If it isn't here have HPD expand the search to the surrounding area."

"Will do, boss," Kono replied as she headed off to find Duke and see which officers she could get to help her with the search.

Steve turned to Catherine. "Did you get an ID?"

"The car is a rental," she replied as she handed him the paperwork she retrieved from the glove compartment of the late-model luxury sedan they identified as likely belonging to the victim mostly due to the blood soaked back seat. "According to this his name is Arthur Fogelsong from Dallas, Texas. I'm gonna run his driver's license and see if I can get contact information for his next of kin. Hopefully they'll be able to tell us what he was doing in Hawaii."

"Sounds good," Steve said. "Let me know what you find out."

Catherine nodded and headed back towards the parking lot.

"Find out anything significant?" Steve asked as Danny returned.

"Unfortunately no. The body was discovered by a jogger at around 5:30 this morning. She said she didn't see anyone else in the area at the time and she didn't hear anything unusual. Apparently she was pretty freaked out. Can't say as I blame her."

"We have a tentative ID. Arthur Fogelsong from Dallas, Texas. Chin's in court this morning but as soon as he's done I'll have him find out everything he can about the guy."

Steve moved out of the way as the morgue techs rolled the stretcher carrying the body over the uneven ground of the park towards the waiting M.E.'s van. Max followed closely behind making notes on his clip board as he walked. As Steve watched them go his phone buzzed with an incoming call.

He glanced at the screen and saw it was Catherine.

"What's up?" he said without preamble as he answered.

"_We found some paperwork in a briefcase on the backseat of the car,"_ she reported. "_It looks like this guy was in Hawaii for a conference of inventors."_

"Inventors?" Steve wasn't sure he'd heard correctly. He knew all kinds of groups held their conventions in Hawaii, eager to combine business with pleasure and enjoy the sunshine and beautiful beaches, but he had never heard of an inventor's conference before.

"_Yeah,"_ Catherine said. _"We didn't find a key card yet but there's a check-in receipt from the Hilton. And judging by the itinerary for the convention that's where most of their events are being held as well."_

"Ok. Danny and I will head over there and see what we can find out. You keep working on locating the next of kin and we'll see you back at the office later."

"_Sounds good. See you later."_

Steve disconnected the call and slid his phone back into his pocket. "This guy was apparently in town for an inventor's conference over at Hilton," he said to Danny. "Let's go talk to some people and see what we can find out."

"You think this might have to do with an invention he was working on?" Danny asked incredulously.

"Who knows?" Steve shrugged. "But it's pretty clear it wasn't a simple robbery gone wrong. Someone went to a lot of trouble to mutilate the body and dump it where it would be found."

"Let's go," Danny grumbled. "But can we at least stop for coffee on the way."

"If it'll stop your whining I'll even buy," Steve said as he pulled the Camaro keys out of his pocket and headed for the car.

* * *

**Hilton Hawaiian Village**

**Ballroom**

**Thursday 7:50 A.M.**

Steve and Danny stood just inside the doorway of the large, well-appointed ballroom at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. At the far end of the room hotel employees worked quickly and efficiently to stock a large buffet line with every kind of breakfast food imaginable. They carefully wiped each surface with clean white napkins to ensure a food presentation as beautiful as it was delicious.

At the end of buffet stood a towering display of fresh fruit overflowing with locally grown pineapples, bananas, mangoes, melons, papayas and the first star fruit of the season and complete with a palm tree ice sculpture.

The remainder of the room was filled with large round banquet-style tables draped with crisp white linens, each with its own compliment of coffee, tea and assorted fresh juices. Steve estimated the room was set to accommodate something in the area of one hundred and fifty guests.

Half a dozen members of the wait staff clad in black and white moved through the room carefully checking each place setting for completeness and filling the water glasses in anticipation of the arrival of the convention goers.

Both Steve and Danny had eaten brunch at the Hilton many times on occasions both business and personal and whether they were feeding two people or two hundred people the chefs and wait staff never failed to go that extra mile to make it a feast for all the senses, not just the taste buds.

Finally a tall man of about sixty with a lanky frame and weathered features, casually dressed in a lime colored pullover and denim shorts approached and reached out his hand to Steve. "My name is Peter Fields. I'm the Director of the American Association of Mechanical Farm Implement Inventors. I understand you wanted to see me."

"Thanks for taking the time to talk to us, Mr. Fields," Steve said. "I'm Steve McGarrett from Five-0. This is my partner Danny Williams. I can see you're busy so we'll try not to take up too much of your time. We just have a few questions."

Fields looked nervously at his watch. "The breakfast session starts in ten minutes. And trust me you do not want to stand between a group of hungry mechanical farm implement inventors and food that looks and smells as good as that does." Fields pointed across the room towards the buffet as a Hilton staffer rolled out a large cart piled with plates and bowls of various sizes and positioned it at the beginning of the food line.

Steve stifled a smile as Danny rolled his eyes. "We'll be sure we're out of the way before that."

"I'd appreciate it," Fields said anxiously. "We have a tight schedule today and if we don't get breakfast started on time the entire day will be thrown out of whack."

"I understand," Steve said.

"We have a luau on the beach at 5:30 and no one wants to be late for that." Fields shuddered slightly at the thought.

"Well, we just have a couple of questions for you," Steve said. "If you can help us out with those we'll get out of your way and you can stay on schedule."

"Okay," Fields nodded his head. "What do you need to know?"

"What can you tell us about Arthur Fogelsong?" Steve asked.

"Why are you asking?" Fields immediately became agitated. "Is Arthur ok? Has something happened to him? He's my second in command and he should be here by now but I haven't seen him all morning."

"We're looking into a matter he may have been involved in last night," Steve said non-committally. Until he was sure Fogelsong's next of kin had been notified he couldn't release any information about the death. "When was the last time you saw him?"

Fields squinted his eyes and appeared to be thinking. "I saw him last night after dinner. He said he was heading to the beach to take some pictures. I don't think I saw him after that and I'm pretty sure he wasn't at any of the evening activities."

"Was he going alone?" Danny interjected.

"As far as I know," Fields nodded.

"Did he know anyone here on the island?" Steve asked. "Besides the other people at the convention I mean."

"I don't think so." Filed looked across the room fretfully as a few small groups of people began to filter in. They moved immediately towards the buffet, drawn there by both the beauty of the display and the scrumptious aromas emanating from the food itself.

"Did he have any enemies in your group?" Steve knew he was soon going to lose the man's attention altogether.

"Oh definitely not," Fields said adamantly as he turned back towards Steve and Danny and shook his head for emphasis. "Arthur was one of our most successful members. And one of the most popular."

"What did he invent?" Danny asked.

"He invented several pieces of farm machinery that are in use on every farm in America," Fields responded proudly. "He perfected an automated harvesting system that increases farm efficiency exponentially."

"Does that kind of thing make you rich?" Danny asked.

"It made Arthur very rich," Fields confided. "But he didn't do it for the money. He did it for the love of inventing. We all do."

A few more people made their way into the ballroom and Fields began to fidget restlessly. "I'm sorry but if there's nothing else I really need to attend to the guests. Lots of high IQs in the room but half the time they can't find their own place card."

"No problem," Steve smiled. "You've been a big help. We'll let you know if we have any other questions."

"I'll be here till Sunday morning." Fields nodded and headed off across the ballroom towards a small group of people who were having trouble finding the plates for the buffet, most likely because they were starting at the wrong end. Steve and Danny chuckled as the kitchen staff helpfully guided them towards the correct starting point, pointing out some of the hotel's signature dishes along the way.

"I wonder how many of those people are millionaires," Danny said as he watched the scene unfold.

"You probably don't want to know," Steve laughed. "Let's stop at the front desk on the way out and see if anyone noticed anything unusual last night."

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Thursday 3:00 P.M.**

Catherine walked briskly down the carpeted hall towards Steve's office, eager to fill him in on the latest information she'd found on Arthur Fogelsong. As she got closer she looked through the glass and noticed his chair was turned facing the back wall which was an unusual position for him. Just as she started to push the door open he spun around and she saw he was on the phone. She gestured that what she had to tell him could wait and started to turn back towards her own office but he shook his head and waved her in. She entered and sat quietly on the couch waiting for him to finish.

"Yes, Governor. I understand. It'll get our full attention." he listened for a few more seconds before wrapping up the call. "I'll keep you apprised every step of the way, Sir. I promise. Yes, Sir. I'll let you know. Goodbye."

Steve placed his phone on the desk then leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his forehead. Before he even said a word Catherine knew the governor was applying pressure of some kind. The tension was written all over his face.

"The governor getting involved on this one?" she asked.

"Yeah. Looks like Arthur Fogelsong is more of a VIP than we thought. Apparently he sits on the boards of half the corporations and charities in Texas and a few in New York and DC as well. The governor is getting pressure from not only the Texas governor but more than a few congressmen and senators as well."

"Sorry," she said sympathetically. "I know it makes things more complicated when everyone wants the case solved immediately."

"Yeah," Steve exhaled. "Anything new on your end?"

"Dallas PD tracked down an ex-wife," Catherine said. "From what they can tell she's his closest living relative. They divorced ten years ago and she moved to Manhattan. NYPD is on the way to make the notification now."

"That's good," he said. "But if they've been divorced ten years she might not know much about what he's been up to lately."

"I agree," Catherine nodded. "But it's worth a try."

"At this point we can't afford to leave any stone unturned," Steve agreed.

"Chin's putting together a list of current associates both business and personal." Catherine stood, crossed to the desk and gave Steve's shoulder a quick squeeze. "I thought I'd head over to the Hilton and see if I can find anyone at the convention who knew him well enough to give us some more information."

"Sounds good," he smiled. "You might want to start with the guy in charge … Fields … according to what he told Danny and me he and Fogelsong have known each other for years."

"Will do," Catherine nodded.

"We didn't tell him about the death earlier because we hadn't located next of kin yet so I'm not sure if he knows," he said.

"I'll take care of it," Catherine assured him. Death notifications weren't something she enjoyed but they were part of the job. Oftentimes when she went to interview friends and associates of a victim, especially in the hours immediately following a murder, they had yet to hear about the death. Catherine had become quite adept at allowing a few minutes for the interviewee to pull themselves together before she proceeded as gently as possible with her questions.

"Thanks." Steve managed a small smile as she started for the door. "Hey, Cath."

"Yeah?" she turned to face him.

"About this weekend … " he said ruefully.

Steve and Catherine had planned to slip away for a few relaxing days alone on Kauai. They'd arranged to stay in the condo of one of Steve's SEAL buddies who was on temporary assignment on the mainland and had offered them use of the place whenever they wanted to get away for a little peace and quiet and escape from work. They hadn't had a chance to take him up on the offer, what with the kitchen remodel taking up most of their free time, but now that that was done they were looking forward to forty-eight hours away, without any distractions.

But now it looked as if that would have to wait.

"With the governor keeping such close track we can't really afford to take off," Steve said apologetically.

"I figured as much." Catherine smiled a reassuring smile.

Even without the governor breathing down his neck Catherine knew Steve wouldn't feel right about taking off in the beginning stages of a murder investigation. And to be honest she wouldn't either. The longer a murder went without being solved the less likely it was the killer would be caught and brought to justice and that wasn't acceptable to either one of them, whether the victim was a VIP or not.

Having to cancel plans at the last minute came with the territory.

"I'm really sorry." He smiled a remorseful smile. "We'll reschedule as soon as we can."

"I understand, Steve. Honestly. It's the way the job goes."

"Unfortunately it is," he nodded. He knew Catherine understood but that didn't mean he didn't feel bad about having to cancel their plans. "Let me know what you find out from the inventors."

"Will do." She had her hand on the door when Steve spoke again.

"Hey, you can take Kono with you if you want. Those farm implement inventors looked like a pretty crazy bunch when we were over there earlier," he teased.

Catherine chuckled. "Maybe I will. Between the two of us I think we can handle them if they get out of control."

"If I recall correctly they have luau scheduled for 5:30," Steve said, recalling Fields' determination to keep the day on schedule so as not to interfere with the evening's festivities.

"Sounds delicious," she teased back. "Maybe they'll invite us for dinner."

Steve looked up at her and grinned. "Bring me back a plate if they do."

* * *

**Hilton Hawaiian Village**

**Conference Room B**

**Thursday 3:45 P.M.**

Catherine and Kono entered the mid-sized conference room on the third floor of the Hilton Hawaiian Village and found what the convention itinerary described as an 'informal meet and greet cocktail party' in full swing. They asked the first person they came to, a well-toned and well-tanned man of about forty wearing a Hawaiian shirt, flip-flops and a John Deere hat, where they might find Peter Fields. With a broad smile the man pointed across the room. Catherine thanked him and the two women headed off to find the man in charge.

"Mr. Fields?" Catherine asked as she and Kono drew near the man who had been pointed out them.

"Yes, I'm Peter Fields," the man replied. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Catherine Rollins from Five-0. This is Kono Kalakaua. We're here to ask you a few more questions about Arthur Fogelsong."

"I saw the story on the news about the man found dead in the park," Fields said grimly. "It's Arthur isn't it?"

"Yes, I'm afraid it is," Catherine said. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Fields shook his head in disbelief. "Arthur was a good friend and a good man. Who would do this to him?"

"We don't know. But we're going to do everything we can to find out," Catherine assured him.

"Can you think of anyone who might have had a problem with Mr. Fogelsong?" Kono asked. "Did he mention any issues he was having or anyone who might have been bothering him?"

"Not a word," Fields insisted. "And I've talked to him at least once a day for the last month as we planned this convention. As far as I know everything in his life was fine."

"We know he's divorced," Catherine said gently. "Was he dating anyone?"

"Not recently," Fields replied. "And he stayed friends with every woman he ever dated so I don't think any of them have reason to want him dead."

"What about a business deal gone wrong?" Kono asked. "Someone who thought he stole their idea?"

"Not a chance." Fields shook his head vehemently. "You can ask any person in this room. They'll all tell you that at some point Arthur either helped with their invention, gave them advice about their patent application, or helped them find a manufacturer. No one in this room wanted Arthur dead."

"Would you mind if we talked to some of them," Catherine asked. "Maybe they know about something going on that he hadn't mentioned to you?"

"Be my guest. Talk to anyone you'd like." Fields made a sweeping gesture towards the crowd. "I'll be amazed if anyone has anything bad to say about Arthur."

"I'm sure you're right," Catherine said in a soothing tone. "But we have to be thorough. Sometimes people know things they don't realize are significant."

"I understand," Fields said. "You're just doing your job."

Ninety minutes later as the crowd began to make their way towards the private beach outside the hotel for the scheduled luau Catherine found Kono finishing up a conversation with one of the inventors in the far corner of the conference room.

"Did you find anything out," she asked after she heard Kono thank the man for his time.

"Nothing," Kono said. "Fields was right. Everybody loved this guy. No one can think of a single person who might have had an axe to grind."

"Same with the people I talked to," Catherine said.

"Someone definitely wanted him dead but it wasn't any of these people," Kono said.

"I think you're right," Catherine agreed. "Let's head back. Maybe Chin dug something up none of these folks know about."

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Friday 10 A.M.**

Steve sat at his desk flipping distractedly through a stack of papers that needed his signature before they could be sent back to HPD for final processing. As he signed his name by each brightly colored post it tab that said 'sign here', which had been helpfully affixed by one of the clerks at HPD who was apparently tired of getting back forms that were missing signatures and had to be sent over to Five-O again, he balanced his cell phone precariously between his shoulder and his ear.

"I'm really sorry about the delay, Mary," he said. "Everything is set but I just haven't had a chance to talk to Catherine about it yet. We caught a new case and the governor is breathing down my neck because it's some bigwig from the mainland."

"_It's fine, big brother,"_ Mary said. _"I was just calling to check and see if there's something you need me to do on my end. I called Binderian's office to see about settling the bill and he said there was still an open matter so he doesn't have a final total yet."_

"I feel terrible about holding you up," Steve said as he pushed the papers aside and gave his sister his full attention. "I've been trying to get to it. But things are crazy here. And I want to pay for half the lawyer's bill considering some of this stuff is for me."

"_We'll worry about that later,"_ Mary said. _"I just wanted to make sure everything's ok there."_

"Everything's fine. But thanks for your concern. I'm gonna talk to Catherine within the next few days and then I'll get back to you with the rest of the details."

"_Sounds good. I'll let you get back to work."_

"Hey, before you hang up, you're still planning on bringing Joan for Thanksgiving, right?"

"_That's the plan. Why?"_

"Just double checking. Cath's family is coming and I want you to meet them."

The Rollins' had always been so warm and welcoming to Steve, right from the beginning, and he knew they would embrace Mary and Joan with that same spirit and make them feel like part of the family. Mary had missed that growing up as much as he had. Aunt Deb was great, and she did her best, but it just wasn't the same as sitting down to a meal with multiple generations all telling stories and sharing their lives. He knew one Thanksgiving wouldn't make up for what happened to them when they were young but he had experienced first-hand what spending a holiday with Catherine's family was like. How it created a feeling of warmth you could carry with you throughout the year.

He wanted Mary and Joan to know that feeling.

"_Are you sure we won't be too much? We can come another time. We were there last Thanksgiving and I know Catherine's family hasn't been to visit for a while."_

"Don't be silly," Steve insisted. "We really want to get both families together and give everyone a chance to get to know each other. Plus you have to see the new kitchen."

"_Cath sent me pictures. It looks amazing." _Mary paused and her voice got quieter._ "Is Mom invited?"_

"If she ever decides to talk to me again I'll invite her," Steve shrugged. "But I'm not holding my breath."

"_That's probably a good idea," _Mary said._ "OK I hear Joan waking up in the other room so I gotta run. You go catch your murderer."_

"I'll do my best," Steve smiled. "Talk to you soon, Mare."

"_I'll be looking forward to it."_

He disconnected the call, slipped his phone back in his pocket with a frustrated huff, and returned to trying to bring order to the stack of papers in front of him.

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters **

**Friday 2:00 P.M.**

Steve was standing at the smart table with Catherine, Chin and Kono pouring over all the evidence that had been collected on Arthur Fogelsong's business and personal life, looking for any lead as to who might have wanted him killed in such a brutal way, when Danny entered the office in the middle of an extremely animated conversation with someone on the phone.

Forty-five minutes earlier Grace's school called and asked him to come in for a meeting. They assured him Grace was fine and that it was actually an administrative matter that had nothing to do with his daughter but that needed his attention as soon as possible. Steve assured him they could start sifting through the new materials on the case without him and Danny left for The Academy of the Sacred Heart immediately. He knew he'd feel better getting whatever the matter was taken care of before the weekend.

"I understand that," he said with a clenched jaw as he stopped in the middle of the bullpen. "But I'm telling you ... that the payment was made ... on time and in full ... exactly the same way it has been every quarter since Grace came to your school. I gave you the receipts ... I gave you the transaction numbers ... What more can I do?" Danny rolled his eyes as he listened then spoke again, "Listen … do me a favor … check your records, closely this time … then get back to me. As soon as possible please. Thanks."

He disconnected the call and shoved the phone disgustedly back in his pocket.

"Problem?" Steve asked.

"Yes, there's a problem," Danny growled. "Apparently the people in charge of bookkeeping at Grace's school are morons. They called me down there to tell me her tuition hasn't been paid and they said if the 'situation isn't rectified immediately'," Danny made air quotes, "she won't be allowed to attend classes anymore."

Danny joined the others at the smart table.

"I assume you told them you paid the tuition," Steve said calmly. He could tell Danny was in no mood to joke. Grace loved her school and the thought of anything interfering with that was unacceptable for both men and not something they took lightly.

"Of course I told them I paid the tuition," Danny huffed. "I pay it online every quarter. I've never had a problem before. But all of a sudden ... they say they have no record. I gave them the transaction numbers from my bank ... you'd think that would be good enough ... and they still say they can't find proof of any payments."

"I'm sure it's just a glitch," Chin said confidently. "They'll figure it out."

"They better," Danny grumbled. "Because the last thing I need is them calling Rachel and Stan and saying I haven't been paying Grace's tuition."

"How can they say they have no record when you showed them the receipt?" Kono asked.

"Receipts," Danny stressed the 's'. "They said they have no record of payment for this year at all. And I asked them that very same question. But they just keep insisting nothing has been credited towards Grace's tuition this year at all."

"What the hell?" Steve said.

"I got absolutely nowhere with the vice-principal so ... I went to the administrative offices ... but I didn't have any better luck there. They did at least promise they'd take another look at their records and let me know."

"What are you gonna do?" Kono asked.

"I have no idea but I'm certainly not paying them again if they couldn't keep track of the money the first time," Danny said.

"It's probably an innocent mistake," Catherine said. "They'll call back in a few minutes and tell you they transposed a number or something."

"I hope so," Danny said. "These people are in charge of educating my kid."

* * *

**Danny Williams' Camaro**

**Saturday 5:00 P.M.**

The team spent most of Friday afternoon and Saturday attempting to create a timeline showing exactly where Arthur Fogelsong went and who he talked to in the hours after he left the Hilton on Wednesday evening and before he turned up dead early Thursday morning. They canvassed area businesses to see if anyone remembered talking to him, checked surveillance and traffic cameras, tracked his cell phone and logged the mileage on his rental car to get an approximation of how far he'd driven that night. Unfortunately the GPS on the car had been malfunctioning since he picked it up so it was of limited usefulness in terms of helping track his movements.

The last confirmed sighting they had was when he gassed up the rental car at 7:30 P.M. Wednesday night at a Shell station in Honolulu. The traffic cameras in the area picked him up turning north out of the parking lot but that was the last time they were able to pinpoint his exact location.

Danny and Steve spent Saturday afternoon at HPD pouring over all the available footage looking for any sign of Arthur Fogelsong but came up empty except for one very blurry image of a vehicle that looked similar to the one Fogelsong was driving parked at the far end of a parking lot at a local strip mall in the wee hours of Thursday morning. They went to the strip mall in hopes the merchants would have some video with a clearer image but unfortunately their cameras focused solely on the areas immediately outside the storefronts and didn't cover the back of the parking lot.

It had been a frustrating couple of days and Steve called the team from the car and told them to pack it in and barring any major developments they'd start fresh first thing Monday morning doing phone interviews with employees at some of the corporations Fogelsong was associated with on the mainland. Max had also promised to have his complete autopsy report as well toxicology results on Steve's desk as early in the week as possible and he hoped there might be information there to help narrow down the search for whoever wanted Fogelsong dead.

"You have plans for tonight?" Steve asked Danny as they made the turn out of the strip mall and headed for the palace.

"I'm taking Grace to the movies and then we're going out for ice cream," Danny smiled.

"That sounds like fun."

"It does," Danny nodded. "What about you?"

"Nothing special. Just a quiet night at home," Steve shrugged.

"Yeah … well … when it comes to you and Catherine I know what quiet night at home means."

Danny rolled his eyes and Steve smirked.

"Hey, I forgot to ask you this morning, did you hear anything back from Grace's school?"

"Not yet," Danny huffed. "And if I don't hear anything by Monday morning ... trust me ... I'm heading down there again."

Five minutes later Steve turned into the parking lot at Iolani Palace and noticed a vaguely familiar figure leaning up against the building outside the front door.

As the car pulled to a stop the figure turned around, smiled shyly and waved.

"Is that Gabby?" Steve said, his voice filled with astonishment.

"What's she doing here?" Danny released his seatbelt, exited the car and headed hurriedly up the sidewalk towards her.

* * *

**McGarrett/Rollins Residence**

**Saturday 9:45 P.M.**

**Beach**

When Steve arrived home after dropping Danny back at headquarters and retrieving his truck he found a note from Catherine saying that she and Cammie were out for a run. When they returned forty-five minutes later Cammie still seemed to have lots of energy so the three of them played fetch on the beach then went for a leisurely swim.

Steve told Catherine about how he and Danny found Gabby waiting for them at headquarters and Catherine was as shocked as Steve had been. Steve knew she exchanged emails with Gabby occasionally but Catherine swore that Gabby hadn't mentioned a thing about returning to the island.

When they finally made their way back inside Catherine shampooed Cammie in the shower then dried and brushed her while Steve grilled some fish and vegetables and they shared dinner on the lanai, Cammie sleeping at their feet.

After the dishes were cleared and loaded into the dishwasher Catherine and Steve moved to the Adirondack chairs positioned close to the water's edge. Steve dropped a folder he'd carried from the house onto the sand beside his chair then settled in, turned to Catherine and took her hand. She always looked beautiful to him, no matter the setting, but there was something about the way she looked in the moonlight that took his breath away.

"Is everything ok," she asked, her voice laced with concern. She'd had the feeling there was something Steve wanted to talk about for a while now but he never quite managed to bring it up and she didn't want to push.

She knew he'd let her know what was going on in his own time and in his own way.

"Everything's fine," he replied with a slightly nervous smile. "There's just something I need to talk to you about."

She squeezed his hand and smiled softly. "You can talk to me about anything, Steve. You know that."

He felt the tension leave his body.

"I know," he said.

From the earliest days of their friendship at the Academy Steve had always known he could talk to Catherine about anything. Things he'd never had the courage to say to anyone else in his life—about his mother, his father, his feelings about leaving Hawaii—flowed easily when he talked to Catherine. Not only was she a great listener but she never judged him, never made him feel guilty about the complicated feelings and mixed emotions he had when it came to his family, and always made it clear that she would wholeheartedly support whatever decision he made for himself regarding events in his life.

He looked into her eyes and smiled. "This wasn't how I planned on bringing this up. I was gonna talk to you about it when we went to the big island for the weekend but then that trip got postponed and I really want to get this taken care of sooner rather than later."

"And since there's no way of knowing when we might get to big island … " Catherine replied, trying to give him an opening to say what was on his mind. She knew he'd feel better once he got whatever it was off his chest.

"Yeah," Steve sighed.

This moment felt momentous to him, and he hoped it would feel the same way to Catherine, so he wanted to make it as special as possible. But the more he thought about it the more he realized that this setting, the beach behind the house, the sound of the waves rolling in, Cammie asleep on the lanai, was probably as perfect a backdrop for what he wanted to discuss as he could possibly get. "I wish I could wait till things were a little less chaotic but I can't. So here goes."

Catherine gave him a small, encouraging smile.

"Do you remember a month or so back when Mary came to the island and we went to see the lawyer to draw up the codicil to her will?" Steve asked.

"Of course I do," Catherine replied. "I was so touched she wanted me to be Joan's guardian, along with you of course, if anything happened to her." Her eyes grew misty at the memory.

She'd grown much closer to Mary in the years since she'd come to Hawaii full-time, almost like the sister she never had, but still being entrusted with the care of Joan was a privilege Catherine would never take lightly. She certainly hoped they never had to worry about Mary not being in her daughter's life, but the fact that if that happened Mary wanted her to step in meant more to Catherine than she could ever express.

Steve smiled softly. "It meant a lot to her that you agreed."

"Has she changed her mind," Catherine asked quietly, thinking maybe that was what Steve needed to talk to her about. "Because if she has I understand. If she's found someone else … "

"No, no of course not." He shook his head vigorously. "She's thrilled that you agreed. She doesn't want to change her mind."

"Then what do you need to talk to me about that involves your trip to the lawyer?" Catherine asked.

"There was one other thing we dealt with when we were there," he said, looking at her, his slightly nervous smile back in place. "Or rather that we started to deal with. There are a few details that need cleaned up before we can finish."

"Finish what?" she couldn't help but be put on edge by the fact that Steve was having so much trouble getting to the point. That wasn't like him at all.

"Mary has decided she wants me to buy her out of her half of the house," he spit out in a rush. "She said she'll probably never live back on the island permanently and if she does she'd want a place of her own anyway."

Catherine breathed a sigh of relief. "Is that all?"

Steve smiled then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Not quite."

"Do you want to buy her out?" Catherine asked. She couldn't imagine any situation where Steve wouldn't do anything and everything in his power to stay in his family home.

"I do," he assured her. "Very much. I went to the bank last week and talked to Kalani Inoke and he told me I can use the equity in my half the house to get a mortgage on the other half so I can buy Mary out."

"So what's the problem?" Catherine asked. She could tell he still hadn't gotten to the heart of what was bothering him.

"It's not a problem really," he replied. "At least I hope it isn't."

Steve reached down beside his chair and picked up the folder he'd carried out with him earlier.

"I talked to both Mary's lawyer and the bank about adding another name to the deed."

He watched as realization dawned and Catherine's jaw dropped open slightly.

She couldn't hide the shock on her face.

"Yours." He smiled and waited for her to process the information.

"You want to put me on the deed to the beach house?" Catherine was stunned. Quite honestly the thought never crossed her mind. Ever since she'd rented out, then eventually sold, her house and moved in with Steve he'd always referred to the beach house "their" home. He told her repeatedly he wanted her to be comfortable and she should feel free to make any changes.

Still, until the kitchen remodel she'd stuck mostly to small cosmetic things.

Nothing too jarring.

It wasn't that she didn't feel free to redecorate it was just that Steve seemed so comfortable in the space she wanted to let him make any major changes that might come along only when he was ready.

"Yes, I do." There wasn't a hint of doubt on Steve's face or in his tone.

"But Steve, this is your house. Your family house." Catherine struggled to get her mind around the idea.

The offer was so generous.

Of course she pictured herself always living there with him, but assuming half-ownership was something she'd never even thought about.

It felt big.

But it felt right.

"It is," Steve agreed. "But as I've told you before a house is all it was until you moved in. Now it's a home. Our home."

"Steve … " Catherine trailed off, her voice choked with emotion.

He tugged gently on her hands and pulled her out of her chair and settled her on his lap. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and she laid her head on his shoulder as happy tears dampened his shirt beneath her head. After a few minutes he spoke again.

"Well, before you get too excited, there is one little catch, Lieutenant," he said as the slight nervousness returned to his voice and he planted a kiss on her temple.

"What's that?" she asked as she raised her head and looked into his eyes.

"Kalani said that even though it's not 100% necessary, if we're putting your name on the deed it would look better to the bank if we also put your name on the mortgage."

A sly smile spread slowly across her face. "Well that only seems fair," she said and immediately Steve's nervousness faded, replaced by a broad grin.

"Are you sure? You do realize this means you're signing on with me for thirty years of mutual debt." He waggled his eyebrows.

"You're the only person I know who could make that sound sexy," Catherine laughed as she leaned in and kissed him on the lips. He felt himself becoming aroused as Catherine wiggled in his lap and there were a few other things he wanted to discuss with her before they moved to the celebration portion of the evening.

He kissed her once more than turned his attention back to the folder.

"The payments would be very manageable." Steve opened the folder and showed her the preliminary paperwork that had been drawn up by Kalani Inoke. Once he explained to the bank manager that he wanted this to be a surprise for Catherine the man had agreed to prepare a document using the financial information they already had on file for her from other business she had done with the bank.

It was something he normally wouldn't do but if he couldn't trust the head of Five-O who could he trust.

Catherine scanned the documents. Inoke had given them a great interest rate and the most favorable terms available in the Hawaiian real estate market. With just a little buckling down they could actually get the mortgage paid off early.

The difference between what Steve's dad paid for the property and what it was worth on today's market was mind-boggling. And since the warm weather and ocean side location weren't going away anytime soon there was no reason to think the value of the house wouldn't continue to appreciate.

As she looked at the figures it hit her like a ton of bricks.

This was an incredibly valuable asset.

She had to ask one more time.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?"

"I am absolutely positive," he said.

Catherine glanced back down at the figures. "Ok then you know what would make these payments even more manageable," she asked without looking up.

"What?" Steve's hands dropped to her hips.

"If we took the money I got from the sale of my house and used it as a down payment." She flipped through the documents doing some quick calculations in her head.

"Catherine," he protested. "I wouldn't expect you to do that."

"Why not? I mean, your offer is so generous, Steve, and if this is going to be _our_ home, and if we're going to be legally joined in debt for the foreseeable future," she grinned, "then of course I want to contribute."

He looked in her eyes. "I love you, Cath."

"And I love you," she said as she leaned her forehead against his.

"So we're really doing this?" he asked excitedly.

"I'm game if you are," she smiled back at him.

"I'll call the bank and we'll find some time to get over there Monday morning and get going on the paperwork."

"Sounds great." Catherine turned to straddle his lap and began peppering his face with kisses. "So you know what I think we should do now?"

"What?" Steve moaned as he grabbed her hips and pressed up against her letting her know exactly what it was he'd like to do next.

"Celebrate." Catherine's hands slid between them and reached for his belt buckle.

"I like the way you think, Lieutenant."

**END CHAPTER 1**

* * *

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	2. Chapter 2

**See AN's in Chapter 1**

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* * *

**An Earlier Heaven (2/8)**

"_**A happy family is but an earlier heaven." George Bernard Shaw**_

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Monday 8:30 A.M.**

Steve exited his office and found Catherine standing in front of the coffeemaker waiting for the first pot of the day to finish brewing. She stared intently at the familiar machine as if doing so would speed up the process. It was something he'd seen her do on many occasions in many different locations over the years. The memories of other times in settings from Annapolis to Afghanistan to a small hotel in Bangkok flooded his mind and brought a soft smile to his face.

She looked up and returned the smile as she sensed him approaching. "Did you get ahold of someone at the bank?"

"Yeah, I talked to Kalani Inoke," he said as he came to stand beside her. He picked up his coffee cup and joined her in her wait. "He said he'll finish up the paperwork right away and we can come by and sign any time after eleven."

"Sounds good," she said as the last trickles of coffee made their way into the pot. She lifted it and poured them both a cup.

"I dropped everything he needed from me off a few days after our first meeting," Steve said. "He's gonna text you a copy of what he needs to get from you. Just the standard stuff. Income verification and tax returns. That kind of thing."

"No problem. I'll send them over to him as soon as he gets me the list. That way he'll have them by the time we get there to sign the papers," Catherine said excitedly as she leaned down and opened the mini-fridge nestled under the counter that held the coffee station and pulled out a bottle of Peppermint-Mocha liquid creamer.

Her move made Steve smile to himself.

More times than not Catherine drank her coffee black just like he did. But when she was feeling unusually happy, or on special occasions, she treated herself with some flavored creamer.

"So you haven't changed your mind?" He kept his voice light. Taking on a mortgage was a big financial decision and he needed to be sure she knew she could back out if she wanted.

"Not a chance," she shook her head as she picked up a coffee stirrer. "You?"

"Never," he said unwaveringly. "But I need to ask you one last time, are you sure you want to use the money you made from selling your house as a down payment? You don't have to do that. I can handle the monthly payments without it."

"_We_ can handle the monthly payments without it," she said as she tossed the coffee stirrer in the garbage.

"We," he repeated with a smile. "I just don't want you to feel like you have to use that money. The important thing to me is getting your name on the deed."

"I know that Steve," she said sincerely. "And I can't even begin to tell you how much it means to me."

"The beach house is _our _home. It has been for a while now. I just want to make it official." Steve stared into his coffee cup as though the soothing brown liquid held all the answers. "The whole mortgage thing is … " he trailed off.

"Hey," Catherine said softly as she reached out and laid her hand on his forearm. "If you're having second thoughts ... "

"No, absolutely not," he replied adamantly. "But I know part of the money you used to buy your house was what your grandfather left you and I don't want your parents thinking I asked for some sort of dowry."

"Dowry?" Catherine laughed. "Did we fall through a wrinkle in time and end up back in 1914?"

"Very funny," Steve grinned. "I just don't want your parents to think I had ulterior motives for putting your name on the deed."

"Ulterior motives?" Catherine waggled her eyebrows. "Like what?"

Her parents both adored Steve and she knew without question they never doubted he had their daughter's best interests at heart.

"I don't know," he said softly. "Like that I'm after you for your money."

Catherine wanted to laugh out loud at the thought but was stopped by the uncertainty she saw on Steve's face.

"I'm pretty sure that idea would never cross their minds," she assured him. "They both know you better than that."

"I hope so," Steve replied candidly. The Rollins' opinion of him had always been something he considered important.

"But when they come for Thanksgiving," Catherine teased, "I'm totally telling my dad about the dowry remark."

"I'm not worried," Steve grinned. "Grandma Ang will protect me."

Before Catherine could respond Danny came through the office doors wearing a smile that lit up the entire room. He glanced at the phone he carried in his left hand, chuckled, then dropped it into his pocket and crossed the room to stand in front of Steve and Catherine.

"You're awfully happy for a Monday morning," Steve observed.

He hadn't talked to Danny since Saturday when they found Gabby waiting in front of the palace. He figured the two of them needed some alone time to catch up. Since nothing developed with the case on Sunday Steve hoped they had a chance to talk some things out.

He had to admit he was curious though as to the circumstances surrounding Gabby's return. Was she back permanently or just for a visit? And why now?

Steve saw Danny's eyes light up with happiness the second she appeared on Saturday but he also remembered how gutted his partner was when she left to take the job in Denver. He knew it was mostly just a matter of bad timing, as opposed to a lack of genuine affection, but still, he didn't want to see Danny hurt again.

"If you can't be civil, Steven," Danny said as he turned to face Catherine with a flourish, "I'm just going to talk to your better half."

"So," Catherine said excitedly, "Gabby's here. That's great. Right?"

"Yeah," Danny nodded and smiled. "That's definitely great."

"How long is she here for?" Catherine asked. "I mean, is she back for good?"

"That's still up in the air," Danny shrugged, but even the uncertainty couldn't wipe the smile off his face. "Her job in Denver is wrapping up in two months. They've offered to extend her position … again … but she isn't sure if she wants that. She got a call from some bigwig here on the island feeling her out about a job so she decided to come and see what he has to say. But … because she's incredibly awesome at her job … she also has offers in Tucson and New York so nothings been decided yet … by a long shot."

"But there's a possibility?" Steve asked. "That she'll be back here full-time I mean."

"I guess so," Danny acknowledged. "But I'm not getting my hopes up. And more importantly I'm not getting Grace's hopes up."

"I'll bet Gracie was excited to see her though," Steve smiled.

"Excited would be an understatement," Danny grinned. "Gabby went with us to the movies … and out for ice cream of course … and the two of them were thick as thieves. Grace filled Gabby in on everything that's been going on around here, and I do mean everything. She even gave the blow-by-blow of your kitchen remodel."

Steve and Catherine both smiled.

"By the end of the night," Danny continued, "the two of them were making plans to text Catherine and arrange for a girls day out. Manicures … pedicures … whatever it is you guys do when you go to one of those places that makes you take off your clothes and put on a robe."

"A spa?" Catherine said with amusement.

"Whatever," Danny smirked. "I'm glad Grace was having such a good time but I have to put the brakes on a little till I know for sure what's happening."

"Understandable," Catherine nodded. "Still, it would be great to have Gabby back."

"Yeah it would," Danny sighed then looked at Catherine. "But I can't let Grace get all excited about the idea of her being back full-time if it isn't gonna happen."

"Well maybe you'll have a clearer picture of what's going on by the end of her visit," Steve offered hopefully.

"She said to tell you she wants to meet for lunch today so the two of you can catch up," Danny said to Catherine. "She's gonna text you."

"Excellent," Catherine's face lit up with genuine enthusiasm. "I've missed her."

"Me too," Danny answered candidly. "And by the way Gabby's staying at the Hilton so we don't send any mixed messages to Grace," he added.

Catherine smiled. "Well if you'd like to have a sleepover sometime before she leaves we'd be happy to take Grace for a night."

"Thanks, Cath," Danny smiled. "I just might take you up on that."

Danny reached for a cup to get himself some coffee just as Chin and Kono came into the bullpen accompanied by Sergeant Duke Lukela.

"Look who we found in the lobby," Chin said as the three of them approached the smart table.

"I have a couple things I knew you'd want to see right away." Duke got right to the point as Steve, Catherine and Danny joined the others. Chin inserted a thumb drive into one of the table's ports, typed a few keystrokes and watched as several grainy surveillance photos appeared on the overhead screens.

"Is that Arthur Fogelsong?" Steve squinted at the screen.

Whoever the man was he didn't seem to be in any immediate distress. He was leaning on his car in what appeared to be a relaxed manner talking to another man standing directly in front of him. There were no visible weapons and no signs that the discussion was heated in any way.

"We think so," Duke said. "The general build matches images we pulled off the surveillance tapes from the lobby of the Hilton. The car make, model and color appear to match the rental."

"Who's he talking to?" Catherine asked as she too peered at the image on the screen.

"We're not sure," Duke said as Chin swiped a few additional shots up onto the overhead screens. "These were captured by a surveillance camera at the Shell station in Waipahu. I sent a couple of officers out there to question the manager but he wasn't on duty Wednesday night. He gave them the address of the attendant who was working that shift and they're headed to his place now to show him the pictures and see if he remembers anything that might help. "

"I'll see what I can do to enhance these," Chin offered, "but it looks like they were standing at the edge of the parking lot almost out of reach of the cameras so I'm not sure how much clearer I can make them."

"Any little bit would help," Steve said. "First let's make sure that's actually Fogelsong but if it is we definitely need to know who he was talking to."

"According to the time stamp those pictures were taken at a little past midnight. Assuming that's Fogelsong the person he's talking to may well have been the last person to see him alive," Kono said. "And may even be the one who murdered him."

Chin quickly made copies of the pics and sent them to his office computer. "I'll run these through the best software we have and see what I can do."

"Thanks," Steve said as Chin turned and headed for his office. "You said you had two things?" he asked Duke.

"Right," Duke replied. He turned and looked at the smart table with confusion.

Kono smiled as she tapped a few keys and called up the rest of the information on the thumb drive.

"Right. Thanks. There it is," Duke said as the copies of police reports replaced the grainy surveillance photos.

"What am I looking at?" Steve asked.

"We did a search for crimes with a similar M.O.," Duke responded. "There was nothing in Hawaii but we found a couple of cases with almost identical mutilation on the mainland. Right down to the same missing body parts."

"Really?" Danny scanned the reports on the screens. "What are the chances of that?"

"Did they ever find the missing body parts?" Steve asked.

Their hunt for the rest of Arthur Fogelsong had been unsuccessful so far despite searching every garbage receptacle within five miles of the recreation area where his body was found and issuing an alert to the trash collectors on the island to be on the lookout for anything suspicious.

"There's no way that's a coincidence," Danny scoffed. "According to Max, Fogelsong was hacked up by a person and not by something like … oh I don't know a meat grinder is what it looked like … but clearly whoever did these murders is trying to make a point, right?"

"Sure looks like it," Steve nodded. "Where were the other cases?"

Duke consulted his notepad. He was old school and as much as he accepted technology as an integral part of police work in the twenty-first century sometimes he still found it faster to consult his handwritten notes. "One body was found in Montana, two in upstate New York, one in New Jersey, two in Chicago, and one in LA. So with the one here that makes eight total."

"Any obvious connection between the victims?" Catherine asked.

"Not at first glance," Duke said. "The New Jersey victim was a mid-level state employee. The two in New York were wealthy philanthropists. He made his money in investment banking and she was very involved in a number of charities. The Montana victim was a retired social worker. The two Chicago victims were an attorney and an ex-Washington lobbyist now running an organic market and the LA victim was a retired judge. There's nothing that jumps out linking any of them to each other or to Arthur Fogelsong."

"Kono, you and Cath start digging into these people's backgrounds and see if there's anything at all that connects them," Steve said. The two women nodded and headed off across the bullpen. "Duke, can you send the names on that list to my phone. Danny and I will head back over to the Hilton and see if any of them ring a bell with any of the inventors."

"Right away," Duke said as he pulled out his phone and began entering the names manually in a text to Steve. It might take a little longer to do things the old-school way but it still got the job done.

* * *

**Hilton Hawaiian Village**

**Lobby**

**Monday 10:45 A.M.**

Steve and Danny talked to dozens of convention goers in between their morning meetings and activities. They showed each one the list of names of other victims who had been killed in the same manner as Arthur Fogelsong but none of them knew of any connection between their murdered friend and fellow inventor and any of the other people on the list.

A number of them recognized the names of Clark and Amber Curry, the couple killed in New York, but didn't know them personally, only by reputation. They were well-known supporters of agricultural research and provided funding for various projects but as far as any of Fogelsong's associates knew they weren't personal friends and had no business connections.

Steve studied the names of the victims again as he and Danny stood in the lobby waiting for Peter Fields to return with a list of every vendor involved in the planning of the convention from the travel agents to the company that printed the brochures, all of whom would have known Arthur Fogelsong was going to be on the island and so needed to be checked out.

They were an eclectic group but Steve knew there had to be a connection somewhere. Clearly these murders weren't the work of a run-of-the-mill serial killer, if there even was such a thing, who killed in one specific area or type of location he felt comfortable in and targeted his victims based more on availability, personal habits or appearance than anything else.

This person, and Steve assumed it was a man but he couldn't be positive, had killed all the way across the country, people from varying walks of life and professions, yet each had met their end in the same very specific way.

The killer was attempting to send a message. Steve was sure of that.

They just had to dig deep enough to find out what it was.

"Hey, I didn't expect to see you guys here," a voice said from behind them.

Both men turned and Danny's face split into a wide smile when he spotted Gabby.

"We're not stalking you in case that's what you're thinking," he chuckled. "We're here on official business." He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi, Steve," she said with a smile.

"Hi, Gabby. Nice to see you." Steve smiled back sincerely.

"I just talked to Catherine," she said. "We're gonna have lunch. I can't wait to catch up. I'm dying to hear all about this amazing new kitchen she sent me pictures of."

"We're very proud of it," Steve grinned.

It made him happy every time someone mentioned that Catherine had been gushing about the new kitchen. He wanted her to love it and clearly she did.

"Well Grace can't stop raving about it. And Danny told me the story of the backsplash," Gabby said. "That's a very sweet thing you did."

"Don't spread that around," Steve smirked. "I have a reputation to protect."

"I promise I won't tell a soul." Gabby pretended to zip her lips closed.

"Speaking of Catherine," Steve looked at his watch. "I have to meet her at the bank at 11:00." He pulled the keys from his pocket and looked expectantly at Danny.

"Uh … " Danny hesitated. "I'll think I'll stay here and see if I can catch a few more of the inventors on their way in to lunch. Besides … someone needs to wait for Fields to get back with those names." He turned to Gabby. "Are you meeting Catherine at the palace?"

"That's the plan," Gabby replied.

"Then maybe Steve can take my car and I can just catch a ride back with you … in a little while," he said.

"Works for me," Gabby grinned.

Steve watched the two of them stare at each other for about thirty seconds then cleared his throat and spoke. "Ok then. I'll see you both back at the station later."

"See you there," they said in unison without ever taking their eyes off each other.

* * *

**Ohana Pacific Bank**

**Honolulu**

**Monday 11:00 A.M.**

Steve and Catherine sat in the visitors' chairs across the desk from Kalani Inoke, the bank manager, and listened as he explained each and every one of the mortgage documents in detail. Normally this kind of thing would be handled by a loan officer but Kalani had known Steve for a long time not to mention that the McGarrett family had been customers of the bank since the Second World War.

It was a feather in his cap to have the head of Five-O as a customer which was why Kalani was happy to handle this matter himself. He had aspirations to someday move beyond branch manager and the support of someone as high-profile on the island as Steve McGarrett certainly wouldn't hurt.

As he watched Steve and Catherine lean in close to read over one of the disclosure documents before signing Kalani remembered the first time he met Catherine Rollins at a fundraiser around Valentine's Day several years back.

When he asked someone who the mysterious, beautiful woman on McGarrett's arm was he was told she'd flown in all the way from the Middle East just to visit her "friend" for the weekend. He didn't know much else about her at that point but he could see the effect she had on Steve and he determined right then and there that he liked her.

Once Catherine was stationed permanently on the island she too began doing all her banking through Ohana Pacific and they had handled the mortgage on her own house in Aina Haina as well as all her personal accounts.

It'd been a long time since Kalani dealt with all the details of a mortgage but it all came back to him pretty quickly. He had, after all, spent two years as a loan officer on his way to becoming the youngest branch manager in Ohana Pacific bank history.

"Just one last set of signatures," he said as he pushed a paper across the desk towards Steve who smiled and signed his name.

Kalani couldn't help but the notice the difference in Steve's demeanor now as compared to the first time he came in to discuss the mortgage. During that meeting he'd been tense and a little unsure. Kalani knew he wanted to keep the house, and would happily do whatever it took to make that happen, but the Commander had seemed a little taken aback when he was told it would work to his advantage to have Catherine added to the mortgage as well as the deed.

Kalani couldn't be sure but he got the feeling Steve was uncertain what Catherine's reaction to such a request would be. Looking at her now sitting across the desk from him, happy and relaxed, it was clear she loved the idea.

"Now," Kalani said as he checked to make sure all the necessary signatures were in place, "Steve said on the phone that you'd decided to make a lump-sum down payment?"

"Yes," Catherine said as she reached into her purse which was sitting on the floor by her feet, pulled out a check and handed it to the smiling bank manager. "You can just take the money out of my investment account."

"You're sure about this?" Steve asked one last time.

"Positive," Catherine responded cheerily.

As Kalani Inoke paper clipped the check to the manila file folder holding the rest of the documents and pushed the final set of papers across the desk towards Catherine, indicating with his finger where she needed to sign, he teased "This is your last chance to change your mind. After you sign here you'll be legally committed to thirty years of mortgage payments with this guy."

Catherine looked at Kalani then at Steve and smiled broadly.

"I plan on being right beside him for a lot longer than that," she beamed. "I might as well be helping with the mortgage payments."

Kalani was touched by the sincerity of her words. "That's very sweet," he said as Steve leaned over and kissed Catherine on the cheek.

"I've been by his side through the highs and the lows for the last fifteen years," Catherine explained. "From Annapolis to his graduation from BUD/S to missions gone horribly sideways to quiet days on the beach behind the house and everything in between. And there's not a single minute of those years I would trade for anything. I'm not going anywhere."

"That's good." Steve squeezed her knee. "But just so you know, if you did I'd follow you."

* * *

**Five-O Headquarters**

**Monday 11:55 A.M.**

Steve and Catherine entered the Five-0 suite of offices after completing their business at the bank to find Gabby standing near the smart table, having an animated conversation with Chin and Kono while Danny stood a few feet away watching.

He looked up when he heard them approaching. "How'd it go?" he asked.

"Good," Steve and Catherine said in unison.

Danny could tell by their matching smiles they were both happy and excited to have taken the step. A few weeks prior Steve brought up the idea of adding Catherine's name to the deed over drinks at Sidestreet. He confided to his partner that Mary wanted him to buy her out of her half-ownership of the beach house and that since there would be legal paperwork involved with that anyway it would be the perfect time to officially make Catherine co-owner.

Danny was supportive of the idea right from the start and didn't see a problem. Then Steve explained that after talking to Kalani Inoke at the bank he found out they would prefer that if Catherine was going to be co-owner of the property she also be named on the mortgage.

At that point Steve became unsure.

He didn't want Catherine to feel as though his offer came with strings attached.

Danny had listened patiently while Steve worked through the pros and cons of the issue and when his partner finally turned to him and asked his opinion, Danny smiled.

If there was one thing he knew for sure it was that Catherine would not feel as though becoming a party to the mortgage indicated any kind of strings on Steve's part. In fact, she would insist on paying her share once she knew he was taking out a loan to buy Mary out. Catherine was completely devoted to Steve in every way, as he was to her, and while both understood money was necessary to grease the wheels of life it wasn't important to either of them beyond that.

"Oh my goodness," Gabby said when she saw Steve and Catherine. She hurried towards Catherine and wrapped her friend in an enthusiastic hug. "It's so good to see you."

"You too," Catherine said, returning the hug just as eagerly.

Gabby turned back towards the others but left her arm around Catherine's shoulders. "I was just telling Chin and Kono about how a family of birds took up residence on the front porch of my place in Denver and I actually have to go in and out the back door because they have me so freaked out."

Steve and Catherine both laughed.

"I told her she needs to get a cat," Danny said.

"No, because a cat would catch them and kill them and I don't necessarily want them dead. I just want them relocated," Gabby explained.

"Softie," Danny teased.

Gabby wrinkled her nose at him then looked around at the rest of the team. "I shouldn't be standing here taking up time when you have a case to solve."

"No problem," Kono said. "It was good catching up. We'll have to plan a girl's night while you're here."

"Absolutely," Gabby nodded as she checked her watch and calculated the local time in Denver. "I have a couple of calls to make before we head out to lunch. Can I use your office?" she asked Danny.

On his nod she headed back the hallway and the rest of the team assembled around the smart table.

"Anything new?" Steve asked.

"Not yet," Chin said, "but we're just now getting the case files in from other jurisdictions."

"It's hard to imagine," Kono said, looking at the information currently showing on the overhead screens, "what a social worker from Montana, someone who works in the treasurer's office in New Jersey and a couple of super-rich NYC do-gooders would have in common."

"I know but there has to be something," Steve said. "Typical serial killers stick to a certain type of victim or a certain locale. These victims are spread across the mainland and all from totally different backgrounds—there has to be something that connects them all."

"We'll keep looking," Chin said.

"Maybe they're not connected through their jobs or their public lives but through something personal," Catherine suggested. "As soon as I get back from lunch I'll start working on a map of their addresses, check their passports, schooling, that kind of thing. Maybe we can find a time when all these people were all in the same place for some reason."

"Sounds good. Chin, after lunch you and Kono keep looking for a connection on the professional front. Danny and I will grab a bite to eat then head over to the governor's office and see if he can give us access to FBI &amp; DEA files so we can see if there's any connection there."

"Will do," they all chorused.

"We need to get this case solved before another body turns up," Steve said.

* * *

**Sidestreet**

**Monday 12:35 P.M.**

Catherine and Gabby put their purses by their feet and settled in near the front of the dining room. They felt fortunate to have gotten seated at all during the busy lunch rush let alone so quickly but both were glad they didn't have to sit at the bar. Conversation was so much easier sitting face-to-face. Luckily a small table opened up minutes after they arrived and all the other parties waiting to be seated required more space.

They gave their drink order to the hostess but their menus remained closed on the table in front of them. Both knew the offerings well enough to know exactly what they wanted.

The harried young waitress who Catherine knew was named Ilani, and who was taking shifts to help defray the costs of her education, brought their drinks and they quickly placed their orders. Catherine was having Thai Shrimp Cold Noodle Salad w/ Fresh Mint &amp; Cilantro while Gabby ordered the Spicy Ahi &amp; Avocado Poke Bowl w/ Wasabi Aioli.

"I've missed eating fish that's caught the same day it's served." Gabby rubbed her hands together in anticipation as Ilani moved quickly towards the kitchen to place their order.

"No good seafood places in Denver?" Catherine asked.

"It's not that. There are lots of great restaurants there. And if you ever get a craving for an Elk Jalapeno Cheddar Dog Denver is definitely the place to be. But when it comes to seafood it's just different when it's really, really fresh," Gabby explained.

"I hear ya," Catherine nodded. "I lived off military food for a long time. It can be called a lot of things but for the most part fresh is not one of them. It made me appreciate every bite of fresh food that much more."

"I'll bet," Gabby smiled. "So, catch me up on what's been going on with you. You haven't sent me a new picture of Cammie in over a week. You're slipping."

Catherine smiled and pulled out her phone. "Well I may just happen to have a few."

"Of course you do," Gabby smiled as she flipped through the pictures. "She's beautiful."

"And smart too," Catherine said proudly. "She's the star of her obedience class."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from a dog owned by you and Steve," Gabby said. "So what else has been happening in addition to the two of you being new puppy parents?"

Catherine settled back in her chair. "Well you've seen pictures of the new kitchen. That was quite a project."

"I'm sure it was." Gabby nodded. "I can't wait to see it in person."

"We'll definitely have you guys over before you leave. The backsplash … well you have to see it up close," Catherine beamed. "Pictures don't do it justice. It is absolutely gorgeous."

"Oh I'm planning on seeing the famous backsplash up close." Gabby raised her eyebrows. "I've heard the story of how it came to be from both Danny and Grace."

Catherine smiled. "I'm not sure who was more excited, me or Grace. But she did an amazing job. She never let on that there was a surprise in progress back at the house."

"She told me she and Uncle Steve made a plan to surprise you," Gabby smiled fondly. "She takes any project with Uncle Steve very seriously."

"That she does," Catherine nodded just as her cell phone started to ring. "Speaking of," she accepted the call and placed the phone to her ear.

"Hello," she said.

"_Hey,"_ he replied. _"I just wanted to let you know I got a call from Kalani Inoke. Everything's been approved and he scheduled closing for tomorrow afternoon so we can get the mortgage finalized and pick up Mary's check. He said he can even stay a little late if we can't make it in during regular hours."_

"Wow, that was fast," Catherine said.

"_Apparently he had all the preliminary approvals done before we signed. I guess that's why it moved so fast."_

"Remind to thank him for the personal attention," Catherine said. "We'll be able to find a few minutes to get over there tomorrow, right?"

"_Absolutely. He said he'd have a new copy of the deed with both names on it we can look at."_

"That'll be great," Catherine smiled at the fact that Steve seemed to be as excited as she was. "I'll take a picture."

Steve laughed. _"Good idea. We're pulling up to the Governor's office now. I'll see you back at the palace later."_

"See you there." Catherine replied.

"_Love you."_

Much like they had long ago decided against excessive displays of affection in public Steve and Catherine had decided to keep the I love yous to a minimum during work hours but since it was just him and Danny in the car, and since this was a momentous occasion, he made an exception.

"Love you," Catherine smiled in return.

She disconnected the call and placed the phone on the table beside her glass of iced tea. When she looked at Gabby she saw her friend smiling back at her with a knowing smirk.

"Danny told me about it but I didn't believe it till I heard it with my own ears."

Catherine smiled. "Believe it."

"Well it's about damn time," Gabby said as the waitress approached the table with their food. "Now give me all the details of how it happened."

* * *

**State Capital Building**

**Honolulu**

**Monday 12:45 P.M.**

Steve and Danny waited patiently in the small anteroom outside the office of Eddie Garza, the governor's top advisor. The governor himself was in budget meetings all day but Steve managed to reach him by phone during the lunch break and explain why he believed access to federal law enforcement records might be helpful in identifying the killer of Arthur Fogelsong and seven others on the mainland.

The governor directed them to Garza and assured Steve his top aide could help them gain access to any records they needed. Garza had the full authority of the governor to act in this matter but Denning also made it clear that if a little extra pressure needed to be applied he was ready to step in personally.

Both Steve and Danny had worked with Eddie Garza in the past on various projects for the governor's office and had always been impressed by his ability to make things happen. He was very detail oriented, extremely studious and completely devoted to achieving the political goals laid out by Governor Denning. Neither Steve nor Danny doubted for a minute that he wanted what was in the best interest of the governor, for whom he had worked for many years even prior to them ascending to public office, and of who he was genuinely fond.

Since catching a serial killer would be good PR, especially mere weeks before the election, Steve and Danny knew Eddie Garza would move heaven and earth to get them whatever they needed.

Suddenly the door to the office opened and Eddie Garza emerged looking slightly rumpled and completely exhausted. His suit coat was long ago discarded, his tie was loosened and his pants looked as though they were desperately in need of ironing. The dark circles and bags under his eyes were a sure sign Eddie wasn't getting much sleep at night. "I'm sorry to keep you guys waiting," he said genially. "I was on a call with a constituent who had a lot to say."

Steve and Danny smiled sympathetically. "One of the drawbacks of the job I would think," Danny said as the three men stepped into the office.

Steve looked around at the study in organized chaos. The discarded suit coat was tossed haphazardly over the back of his desk chair. The windowsill behind the desk was covered with bottles of assorted pain relievers and antacids. Every flat surface in the room, with the exception of the two visitors' chairs opposite the desk, was overflowing with files, research manuals, boxes of paper and stacks of computer discs.

"Sorry for the mess," Eddie said when he noticed Steve's look. "I'd say it's not normally like this but that would be a lie."

"Are you actually going to read all this stuff?" Steve asked.

"I'll at least skim it all, yes. It's my job. I make sure I have all the necessary information of any topic the governor might be dealing with in the near future. That way I can assure he's briefed on the important facts of an issue without him wasting time on the things that don't really matter."

"Sounds time-consuming," Danny said.

"It is," Garza nodded. "But it's worth it. I can't allow the governor to be blindsided by a question. The appearance of being uninformed and unprepared can be fatal for a man in his position."

"Don't you have staff that could help with the some of this?" Steve asked.

Eddie took a seat behind his desk and indicated the visitors' chairs for Steve and Danny to sit. "Do you remember during the governor's first month in office, he was visiting an elementary school and was caught off guard by a question about mandatory testing scores?"

Steve and Danny both nodded. The newspaper coverage had been brutal, questioning whether Denning was even qualified for the job and asking if, in light of the actions of the previous governor, the entire state government should be swept out of office via impeachment and they should start from scratch.

The governor was able to turn things around with a couple of well-received interviews where he admitted to a lack of knowledge on the subject but committed himself to learning and by winning the support of the powerful teacher's union, but still, Garza knew there was no guarantee they would make it through another similar scandal. Especially now when they could no longer claim unfamiliarity with the job played a role.

"The young aide I assigned to read the information on testing didn't think the scores issue was important enough to brief the governor on," Garza said. Even all this time later there was still a touch of anger in his voice.

"Ah," Steve nodded.

"I learned my lesson." Garza placed his hands palm down on top of his desk. "From that point on I read everything myself. I never want the Governor caught flat-footed like that again."

"Must not leave you much time for a social life," Danny said.

"You're right. It doesn't," Garza conceded. "But I believe what we're trying to do here is important and we have a limited amount of time in office to make a lasting impact on the state of Hawaii so this is what I'm concentrating on now. There'll be time for other things later."

"I guess," Danny said doubtfully.

It was difficult at times trying to handle a job with long hours and be a good dad at the same time but it was something he wouldn't trade for anything. Maybe being a government bureaucrat gave a man a slightly different outlook but Danny was acutely aware that every day at his job might be his last and he had learned long ago not to put things off till later.

Later might never come.

"But I'm sure you didn't come here to inquire about my social life. Or lack thereof," Eddie said with a chuckle. "The governor texted me that you need some access to federal law enforcement records?"

"We're trying to find any possible connections between seven victims on the mainland and Arthur Fogelsong," Steve said. "The murders were practically identical. Each of the victims suffered the same very specific pattern of mutilation. So far we haven't been able to find anything linking them and we're starting to wonder if maybe they were all involved in the same criminal matter, possibly as witnesses."

"Sounds like you might be dealing with a serial killer." Eddie sat up and focused all his attention on Steve and Danny. "And you think he's here on Oahu?"

"Could be. But if we want to get a clue as to who and where he is we need to make a connection between all these victims," Steve said.

"Do you have a list of names?" Garza asked.

Steve pulled up the names on his phone and passed it to Garza who jotted them down then looked at Steve and Danny. "I'll have a full FBI, CIA, DEA, IRS report on your desk within twenty-four hours. Eighteen if I have a little luck."

"Thanks," Steve said. "That'll be a big help."

"Look, I don't mean to sound cold about this," Garza said. "I mean I know a man died here in Hawaii and now you're saying there may be seven other victims."

"But?" Danny asked.

"But the election is coming up in less than two months and the last thing we need is for the citizens to get the idea there's a serial killer running around loose on the island." It was Garza's job to consider the political ramifications of every matter, even murder.

"We're doing our best, Eddie," Steve assured him.

"I know you are. I'm just saying. Anything at all I can do to help you catch this guy, you just let me know. And of course once the arrest is made the governor will be happy to handle the press. I know how much you guys hate that kind of thing."

It was all Steve and Danny could do not to roll their eyes. "We'll keep you updated," Steve said. "And I'll be looking for those files first thing tomorrow."

The three men shook hands and Steve and Danny left the office, smiling at the secretary on the way out, and headed back to their car.

"Putz," Danny muttered as the waited for the elevator.

"Politician," Steve corrected him.

"Same thing," Danny growled.

* * *

**Sidestreet**

**Monday 12:45 P.M.**

"Enough about me and Steve," Catherine said as the waitress left the table after stopping by to check on whether they'd be wanting dessert. "Tell me all about what brought on this surprise visit to the island."

"Well, I wanted to see Danny of course," Gabby said with a shy smile. "I've missed him and Grace. And I wanted to see you and Kono and Steve and Chin too."

Catherine grinned. "Why didn't you mention you were coming? I could have kept it a secret from Danny."

"Oh, I know you could've. It isn't that," Gabby said. "I honestly didn't know myself until a few days ago. I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up in case the whole thing fell through."

"Danny said you have a job interview?"

"Yeah. I do. First thing Wednesday morning. I decided to come in early to make sure I was completely over any jetlag and at my best for the interview." Gabby's eyes danced with excitement. "It's a chance to curate a private collection that's bigger than most of the museums on the island."

"Really?" Catherine said. "Sounds like it would be right up your alley."

"So much of the collection has been packed away for decades." Gabby was trying not to get her hopes up but still she couldn't hide her enthusiasm. "They're looking to finally open everything up, catalog it, put it on display, loan some of it out. It's an amazing opportunity."

"So it's a permanent position?" Catherine asked leadingly.

Gabby nodded. "It certainly could be."

"How do you feel about that? I mean, are you interested in moving back for good?" Catherine was excited at the prospect of having her friend back in town full-time but only if Gabby had decided Hawaii was going to be her permanent home. Having Gabby come back and then decide to leave again in a year would be devastating to Danny and Grace.

No one understood wanderlust and the desire to spread your wings more than Catherine and she knew that until her friend had that completely out of her system she'd never be able to settle down in one place for very long.

"Maybe," Gabby grinned. "I mean it's a great opportunity. Yes. And there are other potential perks for sure."

Catherine nodded. "Well, I can only speak for myself but I would love to have you back."

"Thanks," Gabby smiled warmly. "I'm sure they're going to have a lot of applicants for this position so I'm not gonna start making plans before I at least get through the interview."

"That's probably a good idea," Catherine agreed.

"But then again they did call _me_ and ask me to come in for the interview," Gabby offered cautiously. "That has to mean something, right?"

"It has to," Catherine said supportively. "You were obviously on their radar. Were you recommended by someone or did they call on reputation alone?"

"I'm not sure actually," Gabby answered. "A representative of the trust that controls the collection called a few weeks ago and asked if I'd have any interest in taking the job once my contract in Denver is up. He laid out the basics of the position and gave me a few days to think about it. When he called back I told him it definitely sounded like something I might be interested in and we set up a meeting/interview for Wednesday."

"I really hope you get it," Catherine said as she reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet at the same time she signaled the young waitress for the bill.

"Thanks," Gabby said. "I hope so too."

* * *

**Five-O Headquarters**

**Monday 2:00 P.M.**

As Steve and Danny entered the office they saw a very puzzled looking Chin talking to a woman they recognized as a member of the governor's administrative staff though neither man could remember her name. What they did know was that she was usually the one sent over when there was a problem that needed handled. Sometimes it was a missing incident report after one of the team was injured and the governor's office began getting billed for unreimbursed medical expenses, sometimes it was a missing expense report and still other times it was in response to a citizen concern about the behavior of one or more Five-O team members.

The one constant was that she never came bearing good news.

Steve noticed she was holding out a piece of paper to Chin who didn't seem to understand what he was looking at. The more confused he looked the more animated she became.

"Everything ok?" he asked as he and Danny approached the pair.

Before Chin could speak the woman looked up and said "Commander McGarrett. Detective Williams." She looked back at Chin momentarily then her head snapped back to Danny in a double take. "Detective Williams?"

"Yes." Danny answered with some trepidation considering the woman was looking at him as if she was seeing a ghost.

"You're here."

She looked back at Chin.

"Now you see why I was confused." Chin said.

"Indeed," she responded then looked warily back at Danny.

"Am I missing something," Steve asked.

"Yes. No. Well yes. But no," the woman stammered.

"Well that clears everything up," Danny said sarcastically.

"It's just that you're supposed to be, what I mean is we were informed that Detective Williams was …" the woman trailed off.

"That I was … " Danny said leadingly.

"Well, there's no easy way to put this." The woman straightened her jacket and looked Danny directly in the eyes. "Dead. We were notified you are dead."

"What?" Steve and Danny squawked in unison.

The woman thrust a piece of paper towards Danny. A shiver ran down his spine as he read a very detailed description purported to be of his own death.

"Clearly there's been some sort of mistake," the woman said sheepishly.

Steve gave her a reproachful look. "Clearly."

"It says I died in an accident on the mainland," Danny said as he continued to read the document.

"Yes," the now chastened woman nodded.

"I haven't been on the mainland in months," Danny pointed out.

"I was not aware of that," the woman said.

"Who would have reported me dead?" Danny was incredulous.

"Williams is a common last name," the woman offered. "Maybe they meant another Danny Williams?"

"Look," Steve said as he took the paper from Danny's hands. He didn't think reading the details was emotionally healthy or really useful in any way. "I'm sorry what was your name again?"

"Celia James," the woman replied.

"Celia, could you please look into this and do whatever you need to do to fix it. As you can see Detective Williams is not dead."

"I'll look into it," Celia promised. "Unfortunately it's in our system now so until I can get it reversed … I mean officially reversed … we won't be issuing you a paycheck or reimbursing any expenses."

Steve saw Danny's jaw get tight. "Just do it as fast as you can please, Celia," he said.

She nodded and scurried out the door.

"First the tuition, now this. What the Hell is going on?" Danny asked.

"Maybe she's right. Maybe it's someone with a similar name," Chin offered.

"Well whatever it is someone better figure it out soon. Because this isn't funny anymore."

**END CHAPTER 2**

* * *

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	3. Chapter 3

**See AN's in Chapter 1**

Also don't forget you can find Mari on Twitter asking your opinions about all things McRoll in the REAL World! Mari21763 Always add I'm a #REALMcRoller

* * *

**An Earlier Heaven (3/8)**

"_**A happy family is but an earlier heaven." George Bernard Shaw**_

**McGarrett/Rollins Residence**

**Bedroom**

**Tuesday 7:20 A.M.**

Steve was sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed for work and tying his shoes when he heard the water in the shower shut off at the same instant his cell phone buzzed from its place on the night table. He glanced at the screen and saw the call was from Duke which at this hour of the morning meant one of two things; either very good news or very bad. He answered just as Catherine stepped out of the bathroom, enveloped in a cloud of steam, wrapped in one towel and drying her hair with another.

"What's up, Duke?" he said as he placed the phone to his ear.

"_We may have gotten a break, Steve,"_ Duke answered briskly. _"A guy just walked into HPD and said he thinks he talked to Arthur Fogelsong and another man in the parking lot of the hardware store next to the Shell station in Waipahu around 1 A.M. Thursday morning." _

"What took him so long to come forward?" Steve asked suspiciously as he turned and watched Catherine fasten her bra then slip into the clothes she'd laid out on the bed before their run with Cammie.

She was nothing in the morning if not efficient.

"_Apparently he was on his way out of town when he talked to them. He's been on a fishing boat for the last five days. He didn't even know about the murder until he got back into town this morning and saw the story on the news," _Duke explained.

"What's your gut feeling?" Steve asked.

Catherine caught him watching her and smiled as she threaded her belt through the loops on her pants.

"_I only talked to him for a few minutes but he seems credible to me."_ Duke knew Steve respected the experience he'd gained reading people during his many years on the force and wanted an honest first impression.

"Keep him there," Steve said. "I'm on my way."

He disconnected the call and turned to Catherine who was now fully dressed and slipping on her shoes as she simultaneously put in earrings.

"Good news?" she asked.

"Maybe. Duke has a witness who says he saw Arthur Fogelsong with another man five hours before he turned up dead."

Steve took his Sig from the night table drawer, holstered it, and then clipped his badge to his belt.

"That'd be great," Catherine said with cautious optimism. "It might be exactly the kind of break we've been looking for."

Steve checked the time on his phone before slipping it in his pocket. "I'm gonna swing by Danny's place and pick him up. I want him there for the interview plus I want to make sure he's okay after everything that happened yesterday. I'll probably just leave my truck at his place and we can retrieve it later."

"Okay," Catherine nodded.

Steve crossed the room in four long strides and placed his hand gently on her upper arm then leaned in and kissed her softly.

He allowed his lips to linger for just a second longer than usual.

"I'm still working on mapping out the movement of the victims but I was also thinking I might stop by the governor's office and talk to Celia James," Catherine said as she wiped a smudge of her lip gloss from Steve's bottom lip.

"Any particular reason," he asked.

"I was going over that death report she brought by yesterday." Catherine grabbed an elastic and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "The form looks totally legitimate so we know that whoever faked it went to a lot of trouble to target Danny specifically. Celia said she's positive the report arrived via computer through the online document submission center. I was thinking if I can get a few minutes on their system maybe I can track where it originated from and that will at least give us a place to start."

"That'd be great," he said as he reached out and gave her shoulder a quick squeeze. "I know Danny will really appreciate your help."

"Of course I'm gonna help," Catherine smiled. "Danny's part of the family."

"He's really freaked out by this whole thing." Steve's brow was creased with concern. "The look on his face yesterday when he was reading that death report … I've never seen him look like that before."

"I don't blame him," Catherine said honestly. "I'd be freaked out too if it happened to me. Or you. But you know what?"

"What," Steve asked.

"Whoever is doing this to him, they obviously don't realize they've messed with the wrong guy." She picked up her badge and clipped it to her belt. "Danny has friends behind him ready to do whatever it takes to get this fixed. You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us."

"Go get 'em, Tiger," Steve replied proudly. "I'll see you back at the office later."

He stopped beside Cammie's bed and leaned down to pet the contented dog who was laying quietly, fully used to the morning routine around what she now knew for certain was her forever home.

She got up early with one or both of her humans, went for either a run or a swim, then came back, had a small morning meal and watched from her dog bed as they showered, dressed and prepared for their day. She missed her humans when they went to work, and was always happy for them to get home, but when they left it meant Esther would be coming soon for the morning play and potty session.

And Cammie loved Esther.

"See you later, Cammie. You be a good girl today," Steve said as he scratched her behind the ears causing Cammie to thump her tail happily before he stood up and headed out of the room with a backward glance over his shoulder at Catherine.

* * *

**HPD Conference Room**

**Tuesday 8:10 A.M.**

A little more than forty-five minutes after receiving the news from Duke that a citizen reported seeing Arthur Fogelsong in the company of an unidentified man mere hours before his death Steve and Danny arrived at HPD ready to interview the witness, a thirty-five year old local named Keone Akuini. He was a steadily employed dock worker with a wife, three kids and no criminal record. According to Duke the only law enforcement contact he'd had in the last decade was an occasional speeding ticket and one citation for an excessive Christmas display.

As soon as they arrived Duke directed them to one of the small conference-style interview rooms off the lobby where Akuini was waiting. Those spaces were often used to interview witnesses because they were less intimidating than the interrogation rooms which allowed witnesses to relax which in turn helped them recall details more accurately.

After a quick round of introductions Steve and Danny got straight down to business. They were five days into the investigation and felt as if they'd been bogged down in mud from the start. They needed a new lead to propel the case forward and if Akuini's information was accurate, and he could provide a description of the man Fogelsong was talking to that night, it might just do the trick.

The three men sat as at the small rectangular table, the Five-0 team members on one side and Keone Akuini on the other. Steve and Danny both noted from the outset that Akuini was slightly ill-at-ease, which was true for many people who found themselves inside a police station for any reason let alone as a potential witness in a high-profile murder case. Aside from the usual jitters he seemed calm, open and eager to help.

Steve showed Akuini a picture of Arthur Fogelsong. "Is this the man you saw in the parking lot, Mr. Akuini?"

"You can call me Keone," he said as studied the picture then nodded. "That's him. I'm sure of it."

"And why is it this is the first time we're hearing about this?" Steve asked. "Why didn't you come forward sooner?"

He had already heard the reason Akuini gave Duke, and it seemed legitimate, but he wanted to see if the story changed at all when the question was asked again. Akuini seemed honest, after all he walked into the police station and offered information willingly, which Steve found to be a refreshing change from witnesses who wouldn't say a word until they were backed into a corner, but with no clue as to why someone wanted Arthur Fogelsong dead, or what kind of killer they were dealing with, Steve couldn't afford to dismiss anyone as a suspect out of hand.

"I just got back to land this morning. I swear," Akuini said. "Once a year I go out fishing with my brothers for a week. No wives, no kids, no responsibilities. It's great. Of course then later in the year all the wives go to the mainland for a week and I get to take care of the house and the kids myself. Thankfully my mother lives close by. Because I gotta tell you now that we have three it makes me wonder if the week of fishing is worth it. But it's tradition so what are you gonna do?"

Steve and Danny both stifled a laugh. "The trip …?" Steve said leadingly, in an effort to get the interview back on track.

"Oh right. We pulled out at sunrise last Thursday. We weren't actually scheduled to be back for a couple more days but my brother Kele came down with the stomach flu and being on a boat with someone who has stomach flu is no fun so we cut the trip short."

Steve and Danny nodded sympathetically.

"Would you mind telling us the name of the boat and what harbor you pulled out of?" Danny asked. "It's not that we don't believe you, it's just that we have to check these things out."

"No problem. I understand." Akuini said. "Kele's company owns a boat called Work Hard, Play Hard and it's docked at the Ko Olina Marina on the leeward coast."

"So you got back to town when?" Steve asked.

"About 5:30 this morning. I got home and my wife was up with the baby. She's teething … the baby not my wife … so there's not a lot of full night's sleep going on at my house. Anyway she had the news on. As soon as they started talking about a murder and then they showed the picture of that guy, Mr. Fogelsong, I told her I was sure I saw him the night we left and then I came straight to the police station."

"We appreciate your cooperation," Steve told him. "What can you tell us about the second man?"

"He was about fifty, maybe a little older," Akuini said as he tried to picture the man in his mind. "A haole, six feet tall, medium build. He had an accent."

"What kind of accent?" Danny asked.

"It sounded like he was from New York City to me but I'm no expert. I just know from the accents I've seen on TV. I watched every episode of the Sopranos," Akuini shrugged almost apologetically.

"So you talked to them," Danny asked.

"Briefly," Akuini nodded. "I asked them if they could help me get my tailgate open."

"Tell us about what you talked about," Steve said. He decided if he let the man recount the conversation all at once, as opposed to topping to answer multiple questions, he might be less likely to forget any details. It hadn't taken Steve and Danny long to realize that Keone Akuini occasionally fell victim to conversational drift. Steve wanted to avoid that and keep him as focused as possible.

"I stopped at the Shell station in Waipahu to get some ice for the coolers," Akuini said. "My youngest brother was supposed to pick some up but I knew he'd forget like he always does so I figured I'd just stop on the way and save myself a trip back into town when he turned up without it. So I went inside and paid for the ice then went back outside to get the bags out of the machine. Except when I went to put the ice in my truck my tailgate wouldn't open. I backed into a pole last month at work and haven't had a chance to get the truck to the body shop yet so sometimes it sticks. And the cap was locked and I lost that key a long time ago."

Steve chuckled and nodded. He'd interviewed enough people in his career to be able to spot a liar most of the time and there was just nothing about the details of this guy's story that didn't seem genuine.

"I saw these two guys over at the end of the parking lot. In fact they were actually just past it in the lot of the hardware store. But the lots are connected so maybe they were still in the Shell parking lot. I'm not sure. But anyway I thought maybe they could help me. So I put the ice on the front seat and pulled over to where they were."

"Did it look like they were fighting?" Danny asked. "Were they angry?"

"They didn't seem to be," Akuini said. "It looked like they were just standing there talking. Which I thought was weird at that hour but then again I was out so who am I to judge?"

"So you drove over to where they were?" Steve tried to keep the story moving.

"Right. I asked them if they could help me get the tailgate open and they said they'd try. Didn't seem like I was interrupting anything. So I turned the truck off and got out and we all went around to the back. One guy, the first one you showed me the picture of, he pushed up on the cap and the other guy and me got our fingers under and were able to pull down the tailgate."

"That was it?" Steve asked.

"Pretty much. They asked me where I was headed and we talked about fishing a little while I filled the coolers with ice," Akuini shrugged, "Then I said thanks and left."

"And they were still there when you headed out?" Steve asked.

"Yep. The same way I found them. Leaning on the car talking," Akuini confirmed.

"Did the second man have any tattoos or scars? Any distinguishing marks at all?" Danny asked.

"Not that I noticed," Akuini shook his head.

"Anything else you can think of that might be important?" Steve asked.

"There was one other thing," Akuini offered. "They were both driving cars rented from the same company. Diamond Head Car Rentals. I guess that's why I just assumed they were friends or something. Maybe they'd traveled to the island together."

"Are you sure?" Danny asked.

"Positive," Akuini nodded. "I remember a few years back they stopped putting bumper stickers on rental cars because they were afraid it made the tourists easy marks for carjackers."

"Right," Steve and Danny nodded.

"But my wife's sister used to work for Diamond Head Car Rentals before she got married. She had to quit when she got pregnant because that job was just standing all day long and she's been having a lot of problems with her feet swelling so she asked them if she could sit on a stool and they weren't too pleased with that idea so she talked to her husband and they decided she should just quit."

"I'm sorry to hear that but … was it you were saying about the bumper stickers?" Steve sighed.

"Oh yeah. They were mad they weren't allowed to mark their cars anymore so they ordered a whole punch of license plate frames with their diamond logo all over them and they put one on every car."

"And both of the cars that night had that frame?" Steve asked. "You're sure?"

"I'm positive," Akuini answered. "Every time we're driving down the road and we see one of those frames my wife says … well I won't repeat what she says … she's mad at them for the way they treated her sister… but she points it out."

"Would you be willing to sit with a sketch artist and see if you can come up with a drawing of the second man?" Steve asked.

"Sure," Akuini said. "Anything I can do to help."

"Ok great," Steve replied. "You just hold tight for a minute and I'll get a sketch artist in here right away so we don't hold you up any longer than we have to."

"That's ok," Akuini smiled. "I'm off work for the next two days anyway because I was supposed to be on vacation. If I go home I'm sure my wife will have a list of things for me to do. So no hurry."

* * *

**Danny Williams' Camaro**

**Tuesday 9:30 A.M.**

Danny stared out the passenger's side window as Steve pulled out of HPD and headed for the Five-0 offices.

"You okay?" Steve asked.

He hadn't had a chance to check in earlier. When he arrived at Danny's place Grace was just finishing up her breakfast and gathering the things she needed for the day. Steve didn't want to mention anything in front her and by the time they dropped her off at school, then called to check in with the team, they were at HPD and went directly into the interview.

"I'm fine … for a dead guy," Danny huffed.

"Did you hear anything from the Celia last night?" Steve asked.

"No, she called around 8:00 to let me know she hadn't had any luck … you know … bringing me back to life in the eyes of the great state of Hawaii … but she promised she was gonna keep trying today."

"Catherine said she was gonna go over to the governor's office this morning and see if she could help track down where the death report originated from."

"Really?" Danny said. "That's very sweet of her. I'd appreciate that."

"I'm almost afraid to ask but have any other problems popped up?" Steve asked.

"Well aside from the fact that I'm apparently dead … and no longer getting paid for risking my life on a daily basis … and did I mention dead … " Danny grumbled.

"Look, I'm sure this is tough but we're gonna get it all straightened out," Steve promised.

"I know," Danny sighed. "It just doesn't feel like that right now. I spent all last night on the phone trying … and to be honest occasionally failing … to keep my voice down so Grace didn't hear anything about this whole ridiculous mess. I called the bank and let them know what 's going on so they've locked down my accounts so at least I know no one will get access to those."

"That's good," Steve said.

"True," Danny said, unable to keep the edge out of his voice. "But then on the other hand I called my credit card companies … and as soon as you mention to them there's any kind of problem they freeze your account right away so … as we speak … all my credit cards are unusable."

"If you need some money … " Steve started but Danny cut him off.

"Don't … I know you mean it … and I appreciate it … and at some point I may need to take you up on your offer … but just not right now ok?"

"Okay," Steve nodded. "Consider it a standing offer."

"Maybe this new lead is a good omen" Danny said with as much cheerfulness as he could muster. "Things might be starting to go our way."

"I certainly hope so," Steve said. "We could use breaks on a couple of fronts."

* * *

**Five-O Headquarters**

**Tuesday 12:30 P.M.**

The description of the second man along with the news that he was also driving a car from Diamond Head Car Rentals and that he appeared to be at least familiar if not downright friendly with the victim, was, as Steve had hoped, exactly the shot in the arm needed to re-energize the investigation. They finally had something concrete to go on. For the first time in days they felt like they were getting traction as opposed to spinning their wheels.

Their primary goal now was to identify the second man and track down his rental car. Of course they had no proof he was the killer, but he was seen with Arthur Fogelsong just hours before his death so he was definitely someone they needed to talk to.

While they waited for the sketch to arrive Catherine sought out Danny, who she found in Steve's office. The two men were poring over Arthur Fogelsong's recently arrived financial records looking for any irregularities such as unexplained large deposits or withdrawals that might indicate either someone was blackmailing him or he was involved in something illegal.

"Hey, I wanted to fill you in on what I found out at the governor's office this morning," she said as she entered and sat down next to Danny on the couch.

"Did you find out who reported me dead?" Danny asked hopefully.

"Not yet," Catherine said, "but we're a lot closer than we were twelve hours ago."

"Really?" Steve and Danny said in unison. They both put aside the records they'd been studying and focused on Catherine.

"Yes, really," she smiled. "The report was on an NYPD form, and by the way it is an authentic form, but I tracked the submitting ISP address to Palm Beach, Florida."

"So that's where whoever is doing this to me is located?" Danny asked incredulously.

"Well that's definitely where the death report was filed from," Catherine said. "Celia is working with the internet service provider to narrow it down to a specific computer. She's gonna call me as soon as she knows anything."

"That's great, Cath," Danny said exuberantly. "I mean really great. That's just … you're amazing you know that?"

"I was happy to do it," Catherine said.

"No … no … I'm not letting you downplay this. This is big. This is a clue. At least now we know where to start looking. Thank you." Danny wrapped her in a spontaneous hug.

"You're welcome," she said as she exchanged a smile with Steve over Danny's shoulder. "Any time."

* * *

As soon as the police artist and Keone Akuini agreed the likeness in the sketch was as good as it was going to get Duke made copies and immediately began distributing the image to all local law enforcement officers.

He personally visited the Diamond Head Car Rentals office where Arthur Fogelsong picked up his sedan and showed the sketch to the manager. She said she didn't recognize the man but she agreed to pass the sketch on to her employees and ask if any of them did. She helpfully provided Duke with a list of every customer who had an active rental the previous Wednesday night. There were seventy two names on the list. She also reminded him there were more than a dozen other Diamond Head Car Rental offices on the island and the second car could have come from any one of those as well.

Duke asked if she could provide him with a list of every car Diamond Head Car Rentals had out on the island at the time of the murder but she told him he'd need to get that kind of information from the corporate office which was located in downtown Honolulu. Duke headed directly there and called Steve on the way to let him know what was happening.

As soon as he got a list of renters from that night he would have officers match every name with a driver's license photo and pull out anyone who met the description of the second man. It would be a tedious process but he was prepared to provide as much extra manpower as was needed to help track down the man in the sketch.

Since Duke had the rental car issue covered Catherine and Kono, with the help of Grover and his men, headed out to re-canvass the area surrounding the park where the body was found as well as the businesses around the Shell station in Waipahu to see if anyone recognized the sketch of the second man.

Just as Steve and Danny were preparing to head back to the Hilton to show the sketch to the convention goers Steve got a call from Eddie Garza. The governor's advisor said he wanted to come by and personally drop off the records they were waiting for. There were a few security issues at play and Garza couldn't allow the records to be delivered by courier. He had to put the information in Steve's hands directly.

Danny suggested Steve stay behind and wait for Eddie so they could get ahold of the records and start searching for connections as soon as possible. He'd take Chin with him to canvass the convention goers at the Hilton. With any luck they'd get a name on the second man today and that might help narrow down what area they should be looking in for a connection.

About twenty minutes after the rest of the team left Eddie Garza arrived at the Five-0 offices carrying an encoded thumb drive and looking every bit as rumpled and exhausted as he had the day before. He refused Steve's offer of a cup of coffee saying he didn't have much time because he was due at a Town Hall meeting across the island with the governor in less than an hour.

"There are full federal law enforcement records on each one of the names you gave me on here," Eddie said seriously as he handed Steve the drive. "As well as IRS records. I pulled a few strings and got the least redacted copies I could. I glanced at the records as they were downloading. Most of the victims seem to be squeaky clean. At least from a criminal standpoint."

"Thanks, Eddie," Steve said as he took the drive. "I appreciate you getting this to me so quickly. There's a chance the connection doesn't have anything to do with a criminal matter but we have to check every angle. And so far we're coming up dry everywhere else."

"So what should I tell the governor about where things stand?" Eddie asked, trying hard to keep his voice casual. "I'm sure he's going to ask me when I see him."

"I talked to him a few minutes ago." Steve smiled tightly.

He liked Eddie, he really did, and he believed the man was genuinely trying to help, but Steve wasn't about to let Eddie Garza's concerns about political ramifications, or worse about who was going to get political credit, get in the way of his investigation.

"I told him we found an eyewitness and got a sketch of the second man. We're out canvassing now hoping someone can help us ID him."

"Excellent," Eddie said with a satisfaction Steve was pretty sure he didn't really feel, "If there's anything I can do to help please don't hesitate to let me know."

Eddie turned to leave then reconsidered and turned back towards Steve. "Actually I had one other thought."

"What's that?" Steve asked.

"When I was living in Kansas working for one of the state senators there, before I met the governor, I remember the Currys hosted a big charity event to benefit local farmers every year. It was the social event of the season. I got to go because they invited any staffers or public employees that had worked on their projects that year. From what I heard they hosted them all over the country."

"That could explain how a social worker and an employee of the New Jersey Treasurer's office ended up on the list of victims," Steve nodded. "Is there any way to get a copy of guest lists for those events? Say going back five years?"

"I could call their lawyers' office and see if they still have the records," Eddie offered. "They might be willing to release them to the governor."

"That'd be great. I'd appreciate that," Steve said.

"Don't mention it," Eddie smiled. "I'm happy to help." He reached out to shake Steve's hand. "I'll call you if I find anything."

"Thanks."

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Tuesday 2:00 P.M.**

Chin and Danny sought out Steve immediately upon their return from the Hilton and found him sitting at his desk looking over the records Eddie Garza provided.

"Any luck with the inventors?" Steve looked up as the two men entered his office.

"Not really," Danny said. "Apparently this was 'free day' at the convention and most of them are out exploring the island on their own … lord help us all … I left a copy of the sketch with Fields and he promised to show it around and let us know if anyone recognized it."

"Any luck here?" Chin asked.

Steve held up the encoded thumb drive. "I downloaded most of the files but so far I haven't figured out a quick way to look for any incident all these people might have been involved in."

"I can take a crack at it if you want," Chin smiled. He knew when it came to the internet Steve was fine with basic things but cross-checking between dozens of records, if not hundreds, was not his strong suit.

"Please," Steve handed him the drive. "And could we also get a copy of the sketch to law enforcement in every city one of the murders occurred in. Maybe they can show it around and see if it rings a bell with anyone."

"Will do," Chin said.

As he headed for his own office he saw Catherine and Kono enter the bullpen. Catherine had her phone pressed to her ear and was listening intently to someone on the other end. Both women headed directly to Steve's office. As they entered Catherine ended her call.

"How'd the canvass go?" Steve asked. "Any leads?"

"Unfortunately, no," Kono said. "But we left the sketch with all the businesses and asked them to show it around to their customers."

"Please tell me you were talking to Celia James on the phone," Danny said to Catherine, "And that she has good news."

"Actually she does," Catherine said. "They tracked the computer that sent the death report to a wifi café in Palm Beach. One of those places where you actually rent the computer you're going to be using by the hour."

"So we know who's doing this?" Steve asked excitedly.

"Not exactly. But we're getting closer," Catherine smiled. "The place has no security cameras and it doesn't require ID if the user pays cash to but they're willing to let the Palm Beach PD take the hard drive and see if they can trace any other activity by the same user that might help us figure out who it is."

"Thanks, Cath," Danny said sincerely. "And remind me to thank Celia as well. Now we just have to hope we can get this person before they do any more damage."

* * *

**McGarrett/Rollins Residence**

**Tuesday 6:30 P.M.**

"I said I'm coming!" Steve yelled angrily in the direction of the persistent pounding on the front door of the beach house. "What's so … "

As he flung open the door every trace of irritation disappeared and his senses were immediately on alert. Danny was standing on the other side, one hand raised as if to pound on the door again. He had an ashen face, his breathing was shallow, there were papers clutched in the hand that remained at his side and he was exuding an air of something close to panic.

"Is Gracie ok?" Steve's first question flew from his lips as his heart began to pound.

He had never seen his partner like this before and he knew immediately whatever was happening was serious.

This wasn't Danny messing around.

Something was very, very wrong.

"She's fine. She's with Rachel," Danny said as he finally lowered his hand, almost as if he had just noticed the door was open.

Steve stepped aside and Danny walked into the living room almost as if in a trance. Steve checked the driveway and saw a cab pulling away. On the one hand he was glad Danny had the presence of mind not to drive in his current condition but on the other hand he couldn't imagine what had put his partner in such a state.

"Have a seat." Steve indicated the armchair. "Do you want something to drink? Water? Beer? Something stronger?"

"No thanks," Danny started to sit then sprang back to his feet and began pacing frantically around the living room. Cammie watched him cautiously from her spot by the door where she had gone to investigate the banging. She looked at Danny and then at Steve as though she sensed something was wrong and was imploring her human to fix it.

"What's wrong, Danny? What happened?" Steve asked, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible.

Danny turned towards his partner and held out a handful of crumpled papers he'd been clutching since he arrived.

"What are these?" Steve took the documents and scanned them quickly. "Is this some kind of joke?"

Danny turned to him with desperate eyes. "That's what I thought at first. Though who would think this … or anything even remotely like this … is the least bit funny … I have no idea. That would take a pretty sick sense of humor. But it doesn't matter anyway because I called the bank. This is 100% legitimate."

"But these are foreclosure papers," Steve said incredulously, looking again at the documents in his hand, astonished at what he was seeing. "Am I reading this right? Do these say you borrowed $200,000 against your house and haven't made any payments on the loan?"

"That is exactly what they say." Danny threw his arms in the air. "Except I never took out any $200,000 loan."

"Then all we have to do is …" Steve started.

"No," Danny interrupted. "I know what you're going to say but … look at the documents. I have no idea how they did it but … that sure looks like my signature."

Steve glanced at the signature on the attached papers and had to admit it looked an awful lot like Danny's familiar scrawl. "Obviously this is the same person who screwed up Grace's tuition and reported you as dead," Steve said angrily.

"How can that happen?" Danny resumed pacing. "How can someone take out a loan in my name, put up my house for collateral, and I never even know about it?"

"I don't know, Danny, but we'll get to the bottom of this," Steve promised.

"Not soon enough," Danny said dismally as he dropped down into the armchair and put his head in his hands.

"What makes you say that?" Steve stopped directly in front of his best friend.

"The foreclosure sale date is in thirty days. I talked to the bank. I explained that I never took out the loan. But they said there's nothing they can do. The process has started. I have thirty days till my house gets seized by the bank and sold right out from under me. This is the final notice. There's no way to stop the sale."

Steve's mind was whirling. "The first thing we need to do is get you a good lawyer."

"Do you know what this means?" Danny said urgently. "If I lose my house I'll lose primary custody of Grace."

"We're not gonna let that happen," Steve said, holding up his hand as if to stave the idea.

"We can't stop it," Danny spat out. "The court is gonna look at this and decide Rachel and Stan can provide a more stable home. I'm gonna lose my little girl. Again."

"Danny, you're not. We're gonna figure this out." Steve squatted down and looked Danny in the eyes. "Whatever we need to do we will."

"First the mix-up with her tuition, then I get reported dead, and now this. What is going on?" Danny was starting to spiral out of control.

"Obviously you're the victim of identity theft." Steve tried desperately to ground Danny. He knew they both needed to remain as calm and focused as possible in order to head off impending disaster.

"Maybe … but …" Danny started then trailed off.

"What?" Steve asked.

"We've seen identity theft before. This feels different. I mean … this isn't someone taking out a bunch of credit cards in my name. This is something … bigger."

Steve stared at the papers in his hand. "Can we trace things through the bank that processed the loan?"

"The guy I talked to at my bank said I can try but it looks like it was a secondary market finance company as opposed to a real bank so there's almost no chance there's any surveillance camera video." Danny leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"Whoever did this knew what he was doing." Steve wracked his brain trying to think of anyone he and Danny had tangled with lately who might be sophisticated enough to pull this off.

"What am I gonna do?" Danny was close to tears. "I can't lose Grace."

"You won't," Steve said adamantly. If there was one thing he was sure of it was that Danny and Gracie belonged together and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure they weren't separated.

"Well I certainly don't have … " Danny snatched the papers back from Steve and looked at the exact amount. " … $206, 251.67 to pay off this loan and I don't know anyone else who does either."

"I might," Steve said determinedly.

"Oh really? Who?" Danny looked at Steve, disbelief all over his face.

Steve thought back to the conversations he and Catherine had at the bank with Kalani Inoke. With the money from Catherine's house sale they put down as a down payment on the mortgage, there was still a nice chunk of equity left in the beach house even after they borrowed the money to buy Mary out. Between his income and savings and Catherine's income and savings he knew qualifying wouldn't be an issue. Steve mentioned to the bank manager that they were thinking of doing some more remodeling and he assured them they had plenty of wiggle room if they needed financing.

Steve would have to talk to Catherine first but he was sure she'd feel the same. There was absolutely no way they were going to let Danny lose Grace. No matter what they had to do they would make sure that never happened.

"We'll put up the beach house," Steve said.

"No. No way. Absolutely not," Danny said resolutely as we waved his arms in the air. "I'm not gonna let you do that. You and Catherine just got all that settled."

"Danny … " Steve started but Danny cut him off.

"No. I'm not dragging you into this mess," Danny insisted.

"You're not dragging me anywhere," Steve said stubbornly. "I'm walking into this mess right beside you. Of my own free will. And we'll get it straightened out. But there is absolutely no way I'm letting you lose Gracie."

"Well it's not up to just you," Danny pointed out.

Steve nodded his acquiescence. "That's true. But I don't think it'll be a problem."

"Well I don't want you to even ask her. And I mean that, Steve. It's too much. And it'll put Catherine in a terrible position. This is my problem. I'll have to figure out how to deal with it."

"Danny," Steve said, his voice suddenly quieter. "We're friends. We're partners. Hell … I think of you like a brother."

"You know I feel the same Steve but this is too much to ask." Danny held his ground.

"Nothing is too much to ask of family," Steve said.

Right at that moment Catherine came through the back door, dropped two bags of groceries on the counter in the kitchen and continued into the living room.

"Hey," she started but then immediately sensed the tension in the room. "What's happening? Is Grace ok?"

"Grace is fine," Danny said with a small smile. Even with everything else going on it warmed his heart both Steve and Catherine's first thought had been for the safety and well-being of his daughter.

"Then what's going on?" Catherine looked first at Steve then Danny, who wordlessly handed her the foreclosure papers.

"Someone took out a loan in Danny's name using his house as collateral and he just got a thirty day foreclosure notice," Steve said by way of explanation.

"What? How does that even happen?" Catherine was as shocked at what she was reading as Steve had been.

"I have no idea," Danny growled. "But now I'm gonna lose primary custody of Grace because I can't provide a stable home."

"There's no way we're letting that happen," Catherine said with certainty. She glanced at Steve and saw the determination on his face matched her own.

Danny looked on with fascination as once again they seemed to be having an entire conversation without words. "There's no way anyone can stop it," he said desperately.

"Of course there is," Catherine said resolutely. "We have thirty days. Tomorrow we'll go down to the bank and talk to Kalani Inoke. We'll either put the house up as collateral for you to get a loan or if that isn't possible because of all this other stuff that's going on we'll take out a loan against the house ourselves. Then we'll have some breathing room to figure out what's going on without feeling like a stopwatch is running."

"I can't ask you to do that," Danny said. "As kind as the offer is I can't ask you to do that."

Catherine moved to stand beside Steve so they could create both a literal and figurative united front. "You're not asking," she said, "We're offering. I'm sure you'd do the same for us if the positions were reversed."

Danny sighed. "Right now I'm not sure if I can afford to buy you a thank you drink."

Catherine smiled determinedly. "You need to find a lawyer that specializes in this kind of issue. That way you can make sure nothing else unexpected happens. I can make a few calls and get you some names if you want. But before that we need to go to the bank and get this foreclosure stopped."

Danny looked at Steve and Catherine, searching their faces for any trace of reticence and seeing none. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," they answered in unison.

"I want you to take some time to think about it," he insisted.

The temptation to grasp onto the offer was strong.

Not because he was attached to the house.

He could let that go in a second.

But because he knew if his life became unstable, even through no fault of his own, it would jeopardize his custody of Grace.

Still, he wanted them to be absolutely certain this was what they wanted to do.

Catherine looked at Steve who nodded and smiled. "We don't need time to think about it," she said.

"Ok," he said. "But whatever this ends up costing you I'm gonna pay you back every cent. I promise. As soon as this gets straightened out I'm gonna make sure you get your money back."

"We know you will. We're not worried about that," Catherine said as she came around the coffee table and wrapped Danny in a tight hug. "We just want you and Grace to be ok."

"Thanks," he said, his voice choked with emotion.

"Don't mention it," Steve said. "We're family."

* * *

**McGarrett/Rollins Residence**

**Tuesday 9:15 P.M.**

"Hey, Eddie, did you find something?" Steve asked as he answered the phone.

"_I'm not sure. Maybe,"_ Eddie Garza said guardedly. _"I contacted the lawyers for the Curry estate and told them you were investigating the possibility of a connection to several other murders and they said they'd help in any way possible."_

"That's good," Steve relaxed back into the couch.

It had been a very long day.

"_They sent over a bunch of records,"_ Eddie rubbed his tired eyes. _"I'm going through them now. So far I do know they had contact with both the CA judge and the Chicago attorney though apparently not at the same time. I'm gonna keep looking though."_

"I appreciate your help, Eddie. Really." Steve leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"_Processing large amounts of information and boiling it down to the salient points is my specialty remember?"_ Eddie said dryly. "_Hold on there's someone in the outer office."_

Steve listened as Eddie greeted someone by the name of Patsy, invited them into his office, and then excused himself to finish the call.

"_Sorry, Steve. I gotta go. An old friend just stopped by."_

"No problem," Steve said. "Call me if you find anything."

"_Will do,"_ Eddie said before he disconnected.

"So," Steve said as Catherine entered the room and sat beside him on the couch.

After Danny left the two of them ate dinner and then Catherine took Cammie for a run while Steve cleaned up the dishes. By the time Catherine and Cammie returned the happy pup was ready to sack out for the evening. She waited to see what her humans were going to do and when she realized they were staying in the living room she plopped down on her favorite spot near the bottom of the stairs and fell asleep.

"So," Catherine replied.

"Now that you've had some time to think about this do you feel any different?" Steve asked.

"No, I don't." Catherine didn't have a trace of doubt in her voice or on her face.

The thing is Catherine," Steve said, "when you think about it we'd be guaranteeing Danny's loan, or one of our own, with your money."

"What? How do you figure?" Catherine looked at him with her eyebrows knit in confusion.

"If it wasn't for you putting the down payment on the refi we wouldn't have this much available equity to use as collateral," Steve pointed out. "So essentially the money we'd be offering to put up for Danny would be your money."

Catherine sighed deeply. This was something that had been on her mind since their initial discussion about adding her name to the deed.

"What?" Steve picked up on the change in her mood immediately.

"I just don't understand, Steve. You gave me this incredibly generous gift putting my name on the house that has been in your family since you were a boy." She turned so she was sitting sideways on the couch facing him and took his hands in hers.

"I want you to have it. I want it to be ours," Steve said earnestly.

"And I'm so incredibly touched by that," Catherine said as her eyes grew damp. "But when I offered to put the money down on the refi you kept calling it 'my' money."

"Catherine … " Steve started to protest.

"No, Steve, explain it to me. You're such an amazingly caring and giving man and you've always made it clear, even before the thing with the house, that you would willingly share whatever you have with me."

"I would," he said steadfastly.

"Then why won't you let me do the same?" Catherine asked.

Steve froze.

He'd erected a wall around himself so many years ago to protect from being hurt. But Catherine had scaled that wall right from the very beginning and been standing beside him ever since.

"If what's yours is mine," Catherine continued, "then what's mine is yours."

Steve struggled to explain. "You do share with me Catherine. You share your heart and your soul and your mind and your body. Every second of my life is better because of the things you share with me."

"Those are the important things, Steve. The things that really matter." Catherine placed her hands gently on his cheeks. "And I'm thankful every day that we share them with each other. The money … that's just paper. But if that paper can help us help Danny—that's all that matters."

Steve stared at her for a long silent moment and then his face broke into a wide grin.

"You're incredible, you know that?" he said with awe in his voice.

"Thank you," she beamed and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "So we're in agreement about helping Danny?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"And you're gonna stop referring to it as my money?" she double-checked and gave him another kiss.

"Yes," he smiled.

"And from now on mine becomes ours?" She delivered yet another kiss.

"Yes," he agreed.

"Then let's call it an early night and I'll let you show me you can be equally as incredible." Catherine waggled her eyebrows.

"You're getting better at that," he teased.

"Thanks. I learned from the master."

* * *

**McGarrett/Rollins Residence**

**Bedroom**

**Wednesday 3:45 A.M.**

"It's you," Catherine mumbled as Steve's cell phone buzzed.

He fumbled for the phone and accepted the call. "McGarrett," he said sleepily.

Within seconds his entire demeanor changed and he sat up straight.

Catherine followed suit.

"Are you sure?" he grimaced. He listened for another minute then said "We're on our way."

"Steve? What is it?" Catherine asked as she jumped out of bed and started getting dressed.

"They found another mutilated body," he said grimly as her pulled on a pair of cargo pants.

"Where?" Catherine asked.

"On the grounds of the State Capital."

Steve turned and looked at her, his face a mask of shock and pain.

"What aren't you telling me?" she asked, trying not to panic.

"It's Eddie Garza."

**END CHAPTER 3**

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

**See AN's in Chapter 1**

Also don't forget you can find Mari on Twitter asking your opinions about all things McRoll in the REAL World! Mari21763 Always add I'm a #REALMcRoller

* * *

**An Earlier Heaven (4/8)**

"**_A happy family is but an earlier heaven." George Bernard Shaw_**

**State Capital Grounds**

**Wednesday 4:15 A.M.**

Steve maneuvered his truck through the maze of squad cars, SWAT vans and ambulances crowding the paved parking lot directly adjacent to the Capital Building. Every agency on the island from HPD to the sheriff's office to the medical examiner's office was out in full force. The red and blue lights atop the vehicles were all strobing at a different rate creating an almost unbearable assault on the eyes. Combined with the unrelenting crackle of a dozen different radio frequencies it was enough to make an already high-tension environment even worse.

Catherine's hand rested softly on Steve's knee, exactly as it had for most of the almost silent drive from the beach house to the crime scene. The trip was a deviation from their usual routine. They normally went to work in separate cars but this morning they both felt the need to grab a few precious minutes together before what would undoubtedly be a hectic day. As Steve gripped the steering wheel and concentrated on getting to the scene as quickly as possible Catherine called Chin, Danny and Kono then sent a quick text to Esther letting her know they left the house in a hurry and asking if she could please make an extra early morning visit to let Cammie out and feed her her morning meal.

When Steve realized he couldn't get any closer he pulled the truck to a stop, threw it in park, and released his seatbelt. He placed his hand over Catherine's, took a few seconds to collect his thoughts, then gave her a soft smile and squeezed her hand. They both knew this scene was going to be extremely difficult but with a small nod and matching determined looks they exited the truck. They walked a short distance then ducked under the yellow police tape and headed towards the area where they could see the technicians from the medical examiner's office gathered which indicated the location of the body.

The first officers on the scene had already sealed the building, cordoned off the area and called for portable lighting to illuminate the grounds and aid in both the search for evidence and examination of the body. Dr. Max Bergman was already on scene with his team as was Sergeant Duke Lukela who was alerted the minute the 911 call came in.

"Steve," Duke intercepted him before he could reach the body, "you need to prepare yourself for this."

"I look at dead bodies all the time, Duke. It's part of the job," Steve said brusquely, his jaw tight and the muscles in his upper body coiled as if ready to strike.

"This one is a little different," Duke said, not flinching in the face of Steve's obvious displeasure.

"How so?" Catherine asked as she took a step closer to Steve offering her silent support.

She knew he and Eddie weren't what you would call friends, they weren't actually much more than acquaintances at best, but she also knew Steve and she knew he was going to blame himself for allowing Eddie to get deeply enough involved in the Fogelsong case that it possibly cost him his life.

"I thought you said on the phone we're looking at the same pattern of injuries as Arthur Fogelsong?" Steve said with an annoyed tone.

He stepped forward in an attempt to get past Duke but the older man held his ground.

"We are," Duke said. "You just need to be prepared, ok. It's a real mess over there. And this isn't just some random victim."

"Fine," Steve exhaled heavily and after a few seconds Duke stepped aside and along with Steve and Catherine moved towards the body of Eddie Garza. As they approached one of the portable lighting units sputtered to life, focused directly on the remains, and Steve and Catherine couldn't help but flinch.

Eddie Garza's body lay on a small cement slab at the base of the Capital flag pole. The slab itself, as well as the nearby plaque commemorating the dedication of the flagpole which had been removed from Pearl Harbor after the attack and relocated to the grounds of the Capital, were covered in blood and small chunks of tissue. To the left of the body a small patch of white Gardenias stood covered in blood. As they surveyed the area Steve and Catherine saw traces of blood splatter as far as ten feet away on a bench along the main walk to the front door of the building.

The smell of blood was almost overwhelming.

They were still working to get their minds around exactly what they were looking at when Max stood up from his position crouching next to the body and addressed them. "As you can the killer had a slight change of M.O. this time, Commander, Lt. Rollins," he said grimly. "It's clear the injuries were inflicted here as opposed to the previous case where the body was moved after mutilation."

Steve turned to Duke. "Any witnesses?"

"None that we've found so far," Duke replied.

"How …" Steve asked heatedly. "How does someone cut up a body on the lawn of the Capital Building and no one sees a thing?"

"By this point," Max interjected, "it's likely that the killer has become quite adroit at this specific pattern of mutilation. Depending on the implement he chose he could probably complete the task in under five minutes."

Steve looked at the blood soaked remains of the governor's top advisor and his stomach churned. "So you're sure it's the exact same injury pattern?" he asked.

"I am," Max confirmed.

"So why the change with this murder?" Steve questioned. "Arthur Fogelsong was killed at a different location and transported to the park after he was cut up. There was very little blood at that scene. Why leave the body in the same place it was mutilated this time?"

Max shrugged. "It's possible the killer was interrupted and as such had no opportunity to move the body to a different location to dump it. Or perhaps the extreme bloodiness of this scene is part of the killer's evolving message."

"Yeah, maybe," Steve said.

"Do we have an approximate time of death?" Catherine asked.

"I won't know for sure until I have a chance to conduct a full examination." Max issued his standard reply. "But my best guess would be sometime before midnight. Possibly even before 11:00 P.M."

Danny and Chin joined the group just as Max excused himself to instruct his technicians on exactly how he wanted the body handled so as to preserve as much evidence as possible.

"Jesus," Danny exhaled as he caught his first look at the mutilated remains.

Steve glanced at the cameras mounted on the front of the building. "Duke, we need to get the surveillance tapes right away. I want to know everyone who entered and exited this building in the last twenty-four hours."

"There's a problem with that," Duke said warily, bracing himself for Steve's reaction.

"What kind of problem," Steve demanded irritably.

Duke pointed across the lawn to a man in a blue shirt and jeans talking to several unformed officers. His name tag identified him as Ron Reynolds from Airtight Security. "The company that handles all the electronic security for the building was installing a software update last night. The cameras were turned off at 5:00 P.M. and hadn't come back on yet at 3:30 A.M. when someone from the maintenance staff found the body on his way outside for a cigarette break."

"You've got to be kidding me?" Danny said. "Seriously … the one night the cameras are out in one of the most secure buildings on the island somebody gets murdered on the front lawn?"

"Was it a planned update?" Chin asked.

"According to both the head of maintenance and the head of security the outage has been planned for at least two weeks," Duke nodded.

"We just cannot catch a break," Steve growled. "Has anyone seen Kono yet?"

"She was at Adam's and somehow her phone got turned off, Chin said. "She's on her way."

"As soon as she gets here I want the two of you to go upstairs and search Garza's office," Steve said. "I talked to him last night and he said the lawyer for the Currys sent over a batch of records dealing with their charity work that might help us find a connection between the first eight victims."

"You talked to Eddie last night?" Danny asked.

"Yeah," Steve rubbed his forehead. "He called to tell me the records had arrived from the Curry's lawyer. But then an old friend stopped by to see him and he hung up."

"Did he say who the old friend was," Chin asked.

"Just someone named Patsy," Steve responded.

"What time was that call?" Duke asked.

Steve pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the call log. "Nine fifteen. And Max set the preliminary time of death somewhere between eleven and midnight."

"Did it sound like he was uncomfortable with the old friend stopping by in any way," Catherine asked.

"Not at all. He sounded completely relaxed. I got the impression the visit was unexpected but he didn't seem edgey or concerned." Steve wracked his brain for any other fact, no matter how minor, surrounding the mysterious 'Patsy' but there was nothing there.

"It's strange," Catherine said, almost as if she was thinking aloud. "Didn't the witness who talked to Arthur Fogelsong the night he was murdered say he was leaning against his car talking to another man and they seemed like friends?"

"Yeah, he did," Steve responded. "But I would think if Eddie had any mutual friends with Arthur Fogelsong he would have mentioned it to us."

"Unless he didn't know," Catherine offered.

Steve turned to the Medical Examiner, "Is his phone anywhere on his body?"

"No," Max answered. It was one of the first things he searched for on every body since he knew a victim's phone could be a treasure trove of information for law enforcement after a murder. Garza's phone was neither on the body nor anywhere on the ground surrounding it.

"Did any of your officers pick up a phone?" Steve asked Duke.

"No," the sergeant shook his head.

"Can we work on at least getting his phone records then? As soon as possible," Steve requested.

"I'll get right on it," Duke said.

"Thanks," Steve nodded. "If anybody stonewalls you let me know and I'll have the governor call them himself."

"Will do." Duke started towards the far side of the building hoping to find a quiet spot to make a call. His contact at the phone company wasn't going to be happy to be rousted out of bed at this hour but in this instance it couldn't be avoided.

"Cath, start tearing apart Eddie Garza's life looking for anyone he ever knew named Patsy. He referred to her as an 'old friend' so go as far back as you need to."

"I'm on it," Catherine said as she gave his forearm a quick squeeze before heading towards the parking lot.

Steve and the others looked up and saw Kono coming across the lawn towards them.

"We'll let you know what we find," Chin said as he headed off to intercept her, eager to get to work searching Eddie Garza's fifth-floor office.

"Do you really think Eddie was killed because he was helping us look into this case?" Danny asked incredulously.

"I don't know but it sure seems like it," Steve replied morosely.

Danny thought for a few seconds then nodded his head as if he'd made a decision. "I'm gonna send Grace to stay with Rachel and Stan for a few days. Just until we get this case wrapped up and get … the other thing … under control."

Steve started to protest but then realized it might be for the best. Garza's death hit a little too close to home and they could never be too careful with Grace's safety. "That might not be a bad idea," he agreed.

"Commander McGarrett?" a member of the governor's personal security staff approached apprehensively. He knew the head of Five-0 was not going to want to hear what he was about to say.

"Yes," Steve turned to face him.

"I'm Jonas Deloach. I'm the head of the governor's security detail," the man said as he reached out to shake Steve's hand.

"Right. What can I do for you," Steve asked as he returned the gesture.

"Governor Denning is demanding he be allowed to come to the scene," Deloach said.

"Absolutely not," Steve's tone made it clear he was not open to negotiation on the subject. "Tell him Detective Williams and I will be over to brief him soon but under no circumstances should he be brought here. If he has a problem with that he can call me directly."

"And if he insists," the security officer asked. "I mean he _is_ the governor."

"That may be," Steve said, "but this is my crime scene and I'll have him removed if he shows up. I'll do it myself if I have to."

Jonas Deloach looked very much like a man caught between an unstoppable force and an immovable object.

Steve understood his predicament and softened his tone slightly. "Listen, he doesn't need to see his friend like this. If he does he'll never be able to unsee it. And he'll never get over it. So if you need a good excuse tell him I'm concerned about his safety and it's too big a risk for him to come here."

"And I can assure him you'll be over to talk to him personally very soon?" Deloach asked.

"As soon as the body is removed," Steve said.

Deloach took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. "I'll do my best, Commander, but he's gonna be chomping at the bit so the sooner you get over to the mansion to see him the better."

* * *

**Governor's Mansion**

**Wednesday 6:10 A.M.**

Steve and Danny were escorted into the governor's private office immediately upon their arrival at the official state residence. They were greeted by a grim-faced and angry Sam Denning sitting behind his desk, lost in thought, staring out the room's large window which provided a view of the Capital in the distance.

"Governor," they said as they entered the office and crossed the highly polished floor to stand in front of his desk.

"Gentlemen," Denning replied and indicated they should have a seat in the well-appointed visitors' chairs. "Would you like to explain to me why I was banned from coming to the crime scene this morning, Commander," he said testily. "Last I checked I still outrank you on this island."

"Yes you do," Steve said in as conciliatory a tone as he could manage. "But trust me, Sir, I did you a favor. You did not want to see that crime scene. Remember your friend like he was last time you saw him, not the way he looked after the killer was done with him."

Deep down Denning knew Steve was probably right but he still bristled at being told what he could and couldn't do by the Five-0 Commander. However focusing on that problem wasn't really productive at the moment so he changed the subject. But he was certain they'd be re-visiting the topic soon.

"Tell me what we know," he said as he turned his stare on Steve and Danny, both of whom had seen the look before and were not as intimidated by it as the governor would probably like them to be.

"Eddie Garza was definitely killed by the same man who killed Arthur Fogelsong," Steve said.

"That much I already knew," Denning snapped.

"He was looking into the Fogelsong case immediately before his death and we think that may have played a role in his murder," Steve added stoically.

"And would you care to explain to me, Commander, why you enlisted the help of my top advisor with your investigation. I assigned him to acquire some records for you. Nothing more." Denning made no effort to hide his anger.

"Just to be clear, Sir," Steve's voice started to rise and Danny prepared himself in case he had to jump in and calm things down, "I didn't ask for Eddie Garza's help. He volunteered. For one thing I know he really wanted to get a serial killer off the streets. But he was also hoping he might be able to spin this as a PR advantage that would help with _your_ reelection."

With those words Denning deflated.

They confirmed his worst fear.

When he talked to Eddie about the Fogelsong case on the way back from the Town Hall meeting the previous day his aide was eager to envision what it would do for their chances to win reelection if he had the opportunity to hold a press conference where he, flanked by law enforcement and framed in front of both the Hawaiian and American flags, announced the capture of a serial killer on the island.

Denning had worked with Eddie Garza for close to a decade and knew his friend and colleague was focused on one thing; helping achieve their shared economic, cultural, educational and environmental goals for the state of Hawaii. But in order to fulfill their mission they would need to stay in office. And if spinning the capture of a serial killer in their favor helped achieve that goal then so be it.

Sam Denning was self-aware enough to know that he was misdirecting his anger at himself towards Steve.

"Do we know exactly what he was looking into," Denning asked in a much softer tone.

"Yes," Steve lowered his voice as well. "He'd just received some papers from the estate of Clark and Amber Curry. He had an idea that all the victims may have been somehow connected through their charitable foundations."

"Was he right?" Denning asked.

"When I talked to him last night he said he'd found connections between a few of the victims but nothing yet that connected them all," Steve said.

Denning nodded.

"Can I ask you, Sir, respectfully," Danny joined the conversation, "when was the last time you talked to Garza? His phone is missing as of now and we're trying to establish a timeline of his movements last night."

"I got an email at about 10:00 P.M. which was our usual routine," Denning responded. "It confirmed today's schedule and had briefing notes attached on a few issues he thought might come up today."

"And there was nothing unusual about the email when it arrived?" Danny followed up.

"Nothing." Denning shook his head. "I can forward you a copy if you'd like."

"That probably won't be necessary," Steve said. "We'd like to take his computer and all the files out of his office back with us to Five-0 if that would be possible, Sir."

"McGarrett, I want this murder solved worse than anyone but there are security issues," Denning said.

"We're very aware of that fact, Governor," Steve assured him. "We're only looking for anything that might relate to how he ended up dead at the hands of a serial killer."

"Alright but please … use the utmost discretion." Denning said.

"You have my word," Steve guaranteed him. "One more thing, Governor. Do you know of anyone in Eddie's life named Patsy?"

"Not off the top of my head why?" Denning asked.

"When I talked to him on the phone last night he told me an old friend named Patsy had stopped by for an unexpected visit," Steve said.

"I have no idea," Denning replied. "I can't remember him ever mentioning anyone by that name. But as soon as we're done here I'm going to make a condolence call to his parents in Kansas. I'll ask them if they know of anyone."

"If you come up with anything, Sir, please let us know." Steve stood and reached out to shake the governor's hand.

"I will. And it goes without saying if there is anything at all I can do to help the investigation you let me know. Anything," Denning stressed. "I'll be available to you day and night."

"We appreciate that, Sir," Steve said sincerely. "We'll do our best to find the killer. I promise."

* * *

**Danny Williams' Camaro**

**Wednesday 6:40 A.M.**

Since Steve and Catherine drove to the early morning crime scene together she took the truck when she headed back to the Five-0 offices to begin searching for anyone named Patsy in Eddie Garza's life and Steve took his usual seat behind the wheel of Danny's Camaro.

"This is … wow … a lot to process," Danny sighed as Steve maneuvered through early morning traffic. "I mean less than forty-eight hours ago we were sitting in this guy's office and he was telling us how he had plenty of time to enjoy life later and then just like that … he's dead. It's hard to wrap your mind around."

"Yeah," Steve practically grunted. He had been especially monosyllabic since they left the crime scene and Danny knew he was affected deeply by Eddie Garza's death.

"It isn't your fault you know," he said.

Steve turned and looked at his partner as if wondering how Danny read his mind. He knew intellectually that he had done nothing to cause Eddie's death and could have done nothing to prevent it, but he still couldn't shake the growing feeling of guilt. "In my head I know that," Steve conceded. "But it's hard not to feel like if we hadn't gotten him involved … "

"_We_ didn't get him involved," Danny corrected. "The governor did by sending us to him in the first place. And the _only _reason … well maybe you're right and he really did genuinely want to get a killer off the streets but still … the _biggest_ reason he was so eager to lend a hand on this case was to get a feather for the governor's hat on the eve of re-election."

"I know that but still," Steve sighed, "I'm in charge of the investigation. I could have told him to step back."

"Bullshit," Danny said. "I'm not saying it makes him a bad person, it doesn't, we all make choices about what matters most in our lives, but he told you himself that the only thing that mattered to him at this point was the governor's agenda. His heart was in the right place but it wasn't you he was trying to impress. It was Denning."

Steve looked at Danny and grinned. "You can be amazingly perceptive sometimes you know that?"

"In fact I do," Danny smirked. "Which is why you should listen to more often. You won't … but you should."

"Hey doesn't Gabby have her big interview today?" Steve asked, looking for a break, no matter how short, from talking about or thinking about the death of Eddie Garza.

"Yeah. Nine o'clock." Danny checked his watch. "She's really nervous. This is like … her dream job but she doesn't want to get her hopes up … in case it doesn't work out and they give the job to someone else."

"But if they offer it to her and she takes it she'd be back on the island full-time." Steve said. "Are you ready for that?"

Danny stared out the windshield with a heavy sigh. "If you would have asked me a week ago … no question … I would have said it would be the best thing ever."

"But now?" Steve asked.

"But now … " Danny shook his head. "Now I hate the thought of getting her involved in … whatever this is that's going on in my life with the tuition problems and the foreclosure and … well you know … the fact that the State of Hawaii considers me dead."

"Catherine and I told you last night we're gonna help you get that straightened out," Steve said. "First we'll deal with the foreclosure since that's the most pressing matter and then we'll figure out everything else. Did you find an attorney?"

"Yeah, I think so. He's supposed to be the best on the island. He costs a fortune but if he can fix this mess he's worth it I guess. Jack Morrison from the bank recommended him. I'm waiting to see when I can get an appointment."

"Ok. Then we'll go to the bank and see what we have to do to stop the foreclosure."

"Steve, with everything you and Catherine have on your plates right now …" Danny trailed off.

"Look, I know Eddie's murder throws a wrench into things schedule-wise but it doesn't change anything we decided last night. Catherine and I are not gonna let you lose your house or your daughter."

"I was thinking about you guys' offer and I decided I can't … "

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Steve said with a wry smile. "Catherine and I had a talk last night after you left and, well let's just say she set me straight on a couple of things. We want you to accept our offer. We feel grateful we're able to help and we can't think of a better use for the money than keeping Grace right where she belongs, with you."

Your offer is extremely generous," Danny reiterated, "and very much appreciated but … what if I never get this straightened out? What is this situation drags on and I can't pay you back?"

"I'm your boss," Steve teased, trying to lighten the mood, "I'll take it out of your paycheck."

"I'm not getting a paycheck, remember?" Danny huffed. "On account of I'm dead."

Steve nodded. "I'll admit that complicates things a little. But that won't last forever. Celia and Catherine are on it. It'll be straightened out in no time."

"But then … " Danny couldn't finish his thought. It was something he didn't even want to consider.

"What?" Steve pressed

"Where is the next attack coming from?" Danny fretted. "Am I gonna have to worry every day … for who knows how long … that something new is gonna pop up?"

"No," Steve said, turning more serious, "because we're gonna find out who's doing this, and why, and put a stop to it once and for all."

"I still don't feel right about it," Danny exhaled heavily.

"Well, all I'm telling you is that Catherine has made up her mind about this and once that happens it's usually best not to fight it."

"She laid down the law after I left, huh?" Danny chuckled.

"Yeah, but then she kissed the sore spots and made it better," Steve smirked.

"Lord help me your TMI may not be even close to the worst thing I've heard over the last couple of days." Danny slammed his head back against the headrest.

"Does that mean you want details?" Steve teased.

"I hate you." Danny muttered as he closed his eyes.

* * *

**Office of Kapua Noelani**

**Director of the Thaddeus &amp; Omega Clifford Trust**

**Honolulu**

**Wednesday 8:30 A.M.**

"Dr. Asano, thanks for coming in this morning. Sorry it had to be so early," Kapua Noelani greeted her as she was ushered into his posh well-appointed office on the top floor of a Honolulu office building. She'd been aware of the Clifford Trust for many years, everyone in the field was, and the rumors of their hidden collection had been around for as long as she could remember.

Looking around the office Gabby became convinced that the rumors were true.

The shelves on the far side of the room were filled with beautiful pieces of art dating back to the earliest days of the islands themselves. There were beautiful stone poi pounders, the biggest collection of nearly pristine mortar and pestles she'd ever seen, fishing stones, ancient game tiles, gourds of every shape and size, water jugs carved from coconuts, and some positively stunning examples of flawless painted and non-painted native pottery.

Noelani followed her eyes and remarked, "You have good taste, Doctor."

"The pieces are beautiful," Gabby smiled.

"And they're just the tip of the iceberg," the director said.

"It would be a true honor to curate such a magnificent collection," Gabby said candidly.

As she was about to be seated a door at the back of the room opened and a distinguished looking gentleman of about fifty-five entered and smiled brightly at her. He was impeccably groomed and dressed in an immaculately tailored suit. His watch was Rolex, his cufflinks were Cartier, and the pen in his breast pocket was Montblanc.

"Dr. Asano," Noelani said. "I'd like you to meet Patricio Albanese. He's the attorney for the Clifford Trust as well as one of our board members."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Albanese," Gabby said as she shook his hand.

"Pleased to meet you as well, Dr. Asano," Albanese nodded. "Your previous boss and co-workers speak very highly of you."

"Well that's always nice to hear," Gabby blushed slightly.

"In fact Richard Catalano called me the minute he heard this position might be available and told me you would be the best person for the job hands down."

Gabby smiled. She'd have to remember to thank her mentor next time she talked to him.

"Now," Noelani said, "Let's all take a seat and talk about a few things."

* * *

**Five-O Headquarters**

**Wednesday 11:45 A.M.**

With the help of a half dozen uniformed officers and one borrowed SWAT van Chin and Kono managed to relocate most of the contents of Eddie Garza's office, file cabinets and all, to the Five-0 conference room. Duke assigned several HPD officers, specially trained in evidence assessment and handling, to work with Five-0 for the duration of the investigation. With the extra hands and eyes on board they were making tremendous progress separating the mountain of paper into more manageable subgroups that could be quickly searched for anything that might help lead to the killer.

Chin was concentrating on Garza's computer and the records that had been sent over by the Curry estate detailing Clark and Amber Curry's many charitable endeavors and containing guest lists to hundreds of events they'd sponsored over the course of the last five years while Kono concentrated on searching Eddie Garza's life before he came to the island for any connections with the other victims.

Meanwhile Catherine called Celia James and asked for all Garza's employment records, reviews, human resource contacts, and whatever else the governor's office might have in their possession pertaining to their now deceased employee. Celia confirmed that she had been directed by the governor to provide Five-0 with anything they needed and as such she would gather together every piece of information they had on Garza, including his resume and employment records from his time on the mainland, and email everything over within thirty minutes.

While she was waiting for the records to arrive Catherine called Kalani Inoke at the bank to explain what was going on and ask for his best advice as to the most efficient way she and Steve could help Danny take care of the foreclosure issue. By the time she was done talking to him Celia had come through with the promised records.

Catherine spent the next several hours making calls to all of Garza's previous employers, every person who ever provided a personal recommendation for him and every school he ever attended. Each time, in addition to requesting they send whatever records they had on Garza to Five-0, she also asked if they were aware of any connection he might have to anyone named Patsy. So far the name didn't ring a bell with anyone.

Danny received a call from the office of Greg Howell, the financial attorney who'd been recommended by Jack Morrison, the CEO of Hawaiian Pacific Bank. They were the mortgage holders on Danny's house and as such were obligated to proceed with the foreclosure even though they felt awful about the position he found himself in.

They couldn't stop the process since it was being pursued by another financial entity that had what appeared to be a legitimate collateral agreement that it was choosing to execute, but that didn't mean Jack Morrison couldn't try to help Danny in any way possible.

By a stroke of luck Greg Howell's morning meeting with opposing counsel in one of his cases had been pushed back slightly and he could squeeze Danny in at 11:30 A.M. At first Danny was unsure about leaving the office so soon after a new murder but after discussing it with Steve he agreed he couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet with someone who might be able to help him sort out exactly what was going on and, if he was lucky, might even be able to help him reverse the damage that had already been done.

At noon Steve was sitting in his office looking at some information Duke had emailed over on the progress of the search for the second rental car. The going was slow but Duke hoped to have the list narrowed down to no more than a few dozen names by the end of the day.

Steve picked up his phone, called Duke directly, and asked the police sergeant to check the lists carefully for anyone named Pat, Patrick, Patsy or Patricia. Unfortunately there was no one with that first name on the lists. There were three people with the last name Patrick but according to notes made by the officers working on the lists one was a 28 year old African American man who was visiting the island with an eye towards relocating there, one was a 62 year old grandmother from Iowa who was on the island to visit her grandchildren, and the third was the 32 year old female chaperone of a youth group trip from Oregon.

While he had Duke on the line Steve asked about any luck getting Garza's phone records and was told they would be on his desk by first thing tomorrow morning. As he hung up the phone he looked up and saw Grace walking across the bullpen. He jumped up and went out to greet her, glancing at the overhead screens on the way hoping they weren't displaying pictures from the Garza crime scene.

They weren't.

Steve breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry to bother you at work, Uncle Steve," Grace said softly as she twisted her fingers together, "but I need to talk to you. Are you busy?"

She looked at him with pleading eyes. Something was obviously worrying her, or upsetting her, or both and Steve slipped immediately into protective mode.

Or as Catherine liked to call it Uncle Steve mode.

He took a deep breath and reminded himself that twelve year old girls sometimes get very upset about things that he personally wouldn't consider an emergency. Catherine often teased him about attacking any problem Grace had with the zeal of a SEAL mission. Using a chainsaw to kill a housefly she called it. She always reminded him to find out what was bothering Grace without going immediately to DEFCON 1.

Steve started with the obvious.

She was standing in front of him.

She appeared unharmed.

Those were the two most important things.

He took a deep breath and proceeded.

"I'm never too busy for you, Gracie," he said sincerely. "You know that. You can come to me anytime."

"Thanks," she said and managed the first small smile since she'd walked in the door.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, because I am," Steve continued, "but what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?"

Steve sent up a quick prayer this didn't have anything to do with the allegedly unpaid tuition because if it did he wasn't sure who would be more likely to head down to the school, him or Danny.

Whichever one it was, it wouldn't be pretty.

"We had a half day," Grace said. "Mrs. Thomas, you know the lady who watches me when I'm at Mommy and Stan's, she picked me up. She's taking me to their house because Danno said I was gonna go stay with them for a few days but I asked her to bring me here so I could talk to you first. She said she was gonna run some errands to give me time to talk to you and she'll be back in about half an hour."

"Ok," Steve said. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I want to talk to you privately," she said, stressing the word 'privately'.

"Let's go in my office," Steve said.

"Thanks," she answered.

They made their way across the bullpen and Steve held the door open for Grace who entered and took a seat in one of the visitors' chairs, as opposed to her normal choice of the couch, with a grim look firmly in place.

"Would you like a bottle of water?" Steve offered.

"No thanks," she sighed. "But you go ahead."

Steve couldn't help but be impressed that even though she clearly had a lot on her mind her manners were still firmly in place.

"No, I'm fine," Steve said as he leaned against the desk directly in front of her. "Now what's on your mind?"

"Uncle Steve," she turned her suddenly damp eyes on him, "is Danno okay? Is something bad happening?"

She blinked back tears and Steve felt a swell of his own emotions. He chastised himself for thinking this might have been a little girl's silly problem.

"Of course he's okay, Gracie," he said with complete assurance. "Why do you ask?"

"I know something bad is going on." She shook her head and returned to twisting her hands in her lap. "Last night he kept going into his room but I could hear him talking on the phone and I know he's upset. We were supposed to go out to dinner with Gabby but he said we needed to cancel. And I saw Grandma and Grandpa's number on the caller ID on the phone a couple of times but they never asked to talk to me. They just talked to Danno." Grace regarded him seriously. "They always ask to talk to me, Uncle Steve."

Steve could feel the fear and uncertainty rolling off Grace in waves and he wanted nothing more than to find the perfect words to calm and reassure her. She was a perceptive child, more so than most, and very in-tune with Danny's emotions. Steve knew his partner would do everything possible to shield Grace from whatever it was that was going on but she was too observant for them to believe everything would just go over her head.

She was growing up. She wasn't a child anymore.

He decided that honesty was the way to go.

"There _is _something going on right now that's bothering Danno but it's nothing you did and it's not for you to worry about." Steve didn't speak down to her or minimize her feelings.

He told her the simple truth.

And she responded.

She studied his face closely searching for any sign of deception and saw none.

"I know there are some things you can't tell me because I'm only twelve and I wouldn't understand," she said solemnly, "but I know you'd never lie to me, Uncle Steve."

"Never," he vowed. "If there was something you needed to know I would make sure Danno told you."

"So he's really going to be ok?" she asked once more looking for the comfort that a little extra confirmation from Uncle Steve would bring.

"He's really going to be ok," Steve said confidently.

"Because you and Auntie Cath and Auntie Kono and Uncle Chin are gonna help him fix whatever's wrong?" Grace guessed.

She loved her New Jersey family but she had come to think of her Hawaii Ohana in much the same way. She knew she and Danno could always count on them and she hoped they knew they could count on her too.

"Exactly," Steve smiled.

"But if things get worse, or something else happens, you'll tell me?" Grace crossed her legs at the ankles, folded her hands in her lap and waited for an answer.

"It's up to your dad to decide what you need to know, Gracie, but if there's something I think he should tell you I will do my best to get him to talk to you. I promise."

"Is he sending me to Mommy and Stan's because he's in danger?" The fear crept back into her voice. "And he's afraid I'd be in danger?"

"He's sending you to stay with you Mommy and Stan because we have a big case going on right now, and we're looking for a very bad man, and he wants to make sure he can concentrate all his time on that so that we can get this man off the streets so everyone on the island is safe."

"That's the only reason he's sending me to Mommy's?"

"That's it," Steve smiled.

Grace smiled a small half-smile but her hands returned to twisting in her lap.

"Is there something else on your mind?" Steve asked.

"I'm glad Gabby came back," she said and Steve struggled to keep up with the quick change of topic.

"Me too," he said honestly.

"Danno says we shouldn't get too excited yet because we don't know if she's staying."

"That's probably a good idea," Steve nodded. "I know she wants to stay and she misses you and Danno a lot but …"

"This is another one of those grown up things, right?" Grace rolled her eyes.

Steve could see a small smile forming on her face and he knew she was feeling better now that she'd gotten some of her worries off her mind.

"Pretty much," Steve nodded.

"Uncle Steve?" She turned to face him.

"Hmmm?"

"Auntie Catherine isn't going to go away like Gabby is she?"

Steve was startled by the question.

"No, sweetheart. Absolutely not. Auntie Catherine isn't going anywhere. Where would you get an idea like that?"

"My friend Katie's big brother said that people in the reserves sometimes have to go back overseas and now I'm afraid Auntie Catherine is going to leave … "

Out of the corner of his eye Steve saw Catherine standing in the doorway with her hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes.

Steve smiled at her, indicating he wanted a minute to try to get this straight with Grace, then put his finger under Grace's chin and raised her eyes to his.

"Your friend Katie's brother is wrong. Auntie Catherine is not going back on active duty. You have my word."

"But what about … " Grace hesitated.

"What?" Steve asked softly.

"I remember asking Danno once why he and mommy aren't together anymore—didn't they love each other—and he said sometimes love isn't enough."

"Sweetheart, Auntie Cath and I aren't the same as your Mom and Dad." Steve said. "It's another one of those complicated grown up things."

"I know you love Auntie Cath and I know she loves you and Danno said it was about time the two of you started saying it out loud but I just wanted to make sure… you know … that it's enough this time."

"In the case of your Auntie Cath and me it's more than enough. It's everything." Steve stole a quick look at Catherine. "She's not going anywhere."

"Promise?" Grace asked.

"I promise," Steve smiled. "But if you don't believe me you can ask her yourself." Steve pointed over Grace's shoulder to Catherine.

Grace shot from her chair and jumped into Catherine's embrace. "Do you promise you're not going to leave, Auntie Cath?"

"I promise," Catherine said as she returned Graces exuberant hug. "I promise."

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Wednesday 9:45 P.M.**

The team gathered around the smart table to assess where they stood and assign priorities going forward. It had been an incredibly long day and they were all practically dead on their feet but they were also determined to push ahead and get this case solved before another body turned up.

The sight of Eddie Garza laying at the base of the flagpole was one none of them would soon forget.

"I know it doesn't seem like it considering the pile of paperwork that still needs gone through but we really are making progress, Steve," Chin said. "The extra bodies Duke sent over are helping tremendously."

"That's good," Steve said. "Where exactly do we stand?"

"The six of us, Kono and I and the four HPD officers, have developed a system for assessing whether a piece of paperwork or a folder has any real chance of being part of the connection and if not we move on quickly."

"It's really pretty cool," Kono said, "we each have a tablet with all the personal details of two of the victims loaded in. We take each file and … " Kono saw eight exhausted eyes staring back at her, "I guess it doesn't matter exactly how we're doing it, but it's definitely helping whittle things down into a yes and no pile really quickly."

"I'll take your word for it," Steve smiled.

"I have every job he ever had sending me their employment rosters for the whole time he was there. Ditto every school. I'm contacting any Pat, Patrick, Patsy or Patricia who appears on any of the lists. So far I've called over a dozen people who can all prove they weren't on the island last night. But I'll keep going," Catherine said.

"Charlie said he's almost finished processing all the evidence from the crime scene and amazingly enough there is nothing that points to the murderer. No blood, no fingerprints, no shoe prints, no DNA. It's almost hard to believe," Danny said.

"Duke said they're working their way through the names on the rental car list," Steve added. "So far no luck. They're down to thirty corporate rentals and they're going to call each company individually and find out who might have been driving the car Wednesday night. He also promised we'll have Garza's phone records by morning."

"So far no hits on the sketch in any of the other jurisdictions we sent it to," Chin said, "but I'll keep on them."

"I was thinking I might go back to the Hilton first thing in the morning and see if anyone has anything new to say now that they've seen the sketch," Danny offered.

They all turned as they heard the door to the offices open and saw Gabby walk in.

"Oh sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"That's ok," Steve smiled. "We've put in eighteen hours today. I think it's time for us to go home and get back at it fresh in the morning."

"Sounds good," Chin and Kono said as they headed back towards their own offices to grab their things.

"How'd the interview go?" Danny asked. "I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to call earlier. This day has been insane."

"Oh no, please. I understand," Gabby said. "I saw the news. It's scary."

"Yeah," Danny agreed.

"I got a text from Grace saying she was going to stay with her Mom for a few days," Gabby said questioningly.

"Yeah," Danny looked at Steve and Catherine. "Just till we get this case solved. But there's something else I have to talk to you about. Something crazy that's going on. Can we go somewhere?"

"My room at the Hilton has a Jacuzzi tub," Gabby smiled softly, "and if you don't have to be home for Grace tonight … "

"Oh geez. Now who's doing the TMI thing," Steve teased. "Get out of here. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Oh Danny, before I forget," Catherine said, "We all have an appointment with Kalani Inoke first thing Monday morning. He even offered to come in before bank hours if we need him to."

"Catherine I … " Danny started.

"No!" Catherine said as she held up her hand, palm towards him. "I don't want to hear it."

Steve warned her that Danny was having second thoughts about accepting their offer.

"But I think …" Danny tried again.

"Excuse me," Catherine said. "Did you not see my hand up in what I thought everyone knows is the universal sign for STOP?"

Steve grinned.

"It's just that … " Danny took one more stab at it.

"STOP Danny. It means STOP. IT means we're not debating this anymore. It's happening." Catherine stated with finality.

"You weren't kidding were you?" Danny smirked at Steve.

"Kidding about what?" Catherine asked.

"I told him you were feisty on the topic and he shouldn't mess with you," Steve said.

"Aww thank you, that was a very sweet thing to say." Catherine leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

"Ok let's get out of here before this gets disgusting," Danny said.

They said their goodbyes and Danny and Gabby headed out. Catherine went to her office and grabbed her things then met Steve back in the bullpen.

"Ready to go, Commander," she smiled tiredly.

"I'll follow you anywhere, Lieutenant," he grinned.

"Every time I saw you today you had a cup of coffee in your hand," Catherine said. "If I tested your blood right now the blood type would probably be caffeine."

Steve chuckled.

"You need a warm meal and a hot shower." Catherine slipped her arm around his waist.

"Those might be things I want but there's only one thing I need." Steve stopped and pulled her into a hug.

"What's that?" she asked against his shoulder.

Steve placed a kiss on her temple. "You."

**END CHAPTER 4**

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

**See AN's in Chapter 1**

Also don't forget you can find Mari on Twitter asking your opinions about all things McRoll in the REAL World! Mari21763 Always add I'm a #REALMcRoller

* * *

**An Earlier Heaven (5/8)**

"_**A happy family is but an earlier heaven." George Bernard Shaw**_

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Thursday 8:00 A.M.**

Steve arrived at Five-0 headquarters Thursday morning to find Eddie Garza's cell and office phone records waiting for him in the fax machine as promised. The previous day had been long and difficult. Knowing the victim, even if only in a professional sense, upped the ante on the investigation significantly. But because Eddie Garza was looking into Arthur Fogelsong's death, whatever his motivation might have been, and because that may have led in some way to his murder, the desire to bring his killer to justice was even more intense.

Chin and Kono continued their mission, with the help of the four temporarily assigned HPD officers, to bring order to the seemingly never-ending number of files and records removed from Garza's office. They managed, through sheer determination and the development of an efficient system, to place close to three-quarters of the material aside as unlikely to be related to the murders in any way. The rest would be slightly slower going since several of the killer's victims were fairly high-profile and as such turned up in relation to many varied charities and businesses. They quickly identified several instances where something connected two of the victims but so far they'd come up empty on connections any more extensive than that.

By this point they all knew the list of names by heart and their eyes could pull them out of a document even on skim mode.

Darrell Ornelas (38) worked for the New Jersey Treasurer's Office

Clark &amp; Amber Curry (56 &amp; 49 respectively) wealthy philanthropists; supporters of agricultural causes

Henrietta Brody (67) retired social worker

Carlos Evans (49) high-powered Chicago attorney

Jesse Diaz (50) Washington lobbyist turned organic farmer

Cedrick Giron (70) retired judge

Arthur Fogelsong (57) inventor of mechanical farm Implements

Eddie Garza (43) advisor to Governor Denning

At the same time Catherine was tasked to explore Eddie Garza's personal and professional past looking for a clue as to the identity of the mysterious 'Patsy' who visited him the hours before his death.

The more she learned about Eddie, the more she realized he wasn't exaggerating when he claimed his work was his life. While his previous employers, almost all in either the political or public service sector, raved about what a wonderful, conscientious employee he was and went on at length about how hard-working and dedicated they remembered him to be, none could name a single friend, romantic partner, or outside interest Eddie enjoyed during his free time. In fact more than one of his previous supervisors reported that the only thing they could recall Eddie doing in his free time was working. Catherine couldn't help but feel a little sad for a man who apparently never made time to build a personal life.

After receiving a condolence call from the governor and hearing from their son's boss, who they knew Eddie respected tremendously, that the Five-0 team, his hand-picked task force, was committed to do whatever was necessary to find their son's murderer and bring him to justice, Eddie Garza's parents called the office to offer their help and support in the investigation. Catherine happened to be the one who took their call and she spent thirty minutes on the phone with them, listening to them recount stories of Eddie as a rambunctious child and brag, as only proud parents can, about his many academic and professional achievements. They thanked her for listening and for being so dedicated to getting justice for Eddie and asked her to pass their thanks along to the other member of the team, which she did.

Before ending the call she asked if they knew of anyone in their son's life, be it personal or professional, who went by the name of Patsy. Perhaps someone he went to school with or an old girlfriend. The Garza's said the name didn't sound familiar but they promised to ask Eddie's brothers and sisters and get back to her immediately if his siblings had any idea who it might be. Catherine thanked them for their time and told them once more how sorry she was for their loss before hanging up.

Because Danny thought to plan ahead the previous night and, despite his exhausted state, stopped at home to pick up a change of clothes and whatever else he might need before heading to the Hilton to spend the night with Gabby, he was able to grab a few extra minutes of sleep before he checking in with the convention goers, who were staying in the same hotel, to see if anyone recognized the sketch he and Chin dropped off on Monday.

Duke and his team were checking out the remaining thirty renters on the Diamond Head Car Rental list, all corporate entities, and working to gather the names of every employee of each company who could possibly have had access to those cars the previous Wednesday night. Since all the other renters on the list who even vaguely resembled the sketch or matched the general physical description of the second man seen in the parking lot had been eliminated, Duke believed the man Keone Akuini saw talking to Arthur Fogelsong just hours before he was murdered had to be someone with access to one of the cars that had been rented to a corporate account.

Lukela wasn't normally the kind of man who pushed his team hard, that just wasn't his style, but in this case he made an exception. He truly believed time was of the essence and knew that another mutilated body turning up on the island would very likely lead to wholesale panic among the citizens. That was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

* * *

**Hilton Hawaiian Village**

**Thursday 8:20 A.M.**

Danny entered the Hospitality Suite on the eighth floor of the Hilton Hawaiian Village to find the members of the American Association of Mechanical Farm Implement Inventors relaxing, enjoying a light continental breakfast and chatting amiably amongst themselves. He looked around the crowded room for Peter Fields but was unable to spot him anywhere. Finally he approached a small group of convention goers at a table in the corner lingering over coffee. He recognized most of them as people he had spoken to during previous visits.

"Hi, remember me?" he asked genially as he approached the table.

"Yes, Detective Williams." One of the men in the group stood and shook Danny's hand. He was a short, rotund man with a broad smile and a shirt that read 'Nothing Runs Like A Deere'. "Good to see you again. What can we do for you?"

"Sit … please … finish your coffee," Danny said. "I just wanted to touch base one more time and see if any of you recognized the man in the sketch I dropped off on Monday."

"Sketch?" one of the other men at the table asked. "What sketch?"

Danny looked at each member of the group in turn and noticed they all shared the same confused look.

"I came by the other day with one of my colleagues … I brought a sketch for you all to look at. An eyewitness saw Arthur Fogelsong talking to a man in a parking lot just a few hours before he was murdered … he was able to give a really good description to a police artist … does any of this ring a bell?"

"I'm sorry, Detective, but we never saw any sketch," the first man said as he shook his head.

Danny looked around the table as the others all nodded in agreement.

"I left it with Peter Fields," Danny explained further.

He wasn't sure if Fields failing to show the sketch around was a simple oversight or if there might be something more to it. They had no reason to suspect the organization's director of being involved in Arthur Fogelsong's death. Especially after dozens of other convention goers confirmed that Fields had been front and center for all the Wednesday night social events which lasted well into the wee hours of the morning.

The lively group had prevailed upon the hotel manager to keep the lounge open in order to allow then to finish up their rather elaborate Karaoke contest. The bartender informed them he couldn't serve liquor of any kind past closing and they were fine with that. All they wanted was the Karaoke machine.

"He didn't mention anything to me," one of the few women in the group shook her head. "And I'm in charge of the Presentation of New Inventions seminar tomorrow night so I've talked to him dozens of times since Monday."

"Maybe he just got busy and forgot," one of the other men at the table offered. "None of us are as young as we used to be."

"Yeah maybe," Danny said, his suspicions growing, "Do you know where he is right now?"

"I haven't seen him last night," the first man said and everyone else at the table muttered their agreement.

Danny took his phone out of his pocket and pulled up a picture of the sketch. He handed it to the first man who said "Doesn't look familiar," then passed it along.

After several people had the same reaction the phone ended up in the hands of an older gentleman in a loud Hawaiian shirt and straw hat. "Wait, I recognize him," the man said.

"Really?" Danny said. "You're sure?"

"I'm positive. I met him at a conference in … Phoenix I think it was. Or maybe Albuquerque. Doesn't matter. One of those two though."

"Do you know his name?" Danny asked eagerly.

"Hmmm, I can't recall his name," the man said, "But I know he was there as a guest of the Currys. Amber Curry was the one who introduced him to me. Someone that rich and powerful, not to mention active in the same charities I support and if I might say, very easy on my old eyes—her I remember. Him not so much. I think someone might have told me he handled all the security for her and her husband."

"Thanks," Danny said as the man handed him his phone back. "You've been very helpful."

* * *

**Hilton Hawaiian Village**

**Room 5725**

**Thursday 8:30 A.M.**

Gabby stood in front of the large, perfectly lit from behind bathroom mirror in her comfortable, relaxing room at the Hilton Hawaiian Village applying make-up and humming.

Not distracted humming.

Happy humming.

The previous evening was the first time she and Danny had been able to spend the entire night together since she arrived back in Hawaii and it reminded her how nice it was to have him in her life. As they relaxed in her room's spacious Jacuzzi tub he filled her in on the awful details of Grace's missing tuition payments, the fact that someone had filed an erroneous, yet very detailed death report on him, and lastly the impending foreclosure and what that could potentially mean for his retaining primary custody of Grace.

She was glad he felt comfortable enough to open up and let her in on what was happening in his life and she could tell by the way he relaxed more and more as the conversation went on he was happy to finally be sharing. He confided in her about Steve and Catherine's generous offer and admitted that while he didn't feel completely comfortable asking them to put themselves out like that it might well be the only way for him to keep Grace. She told him she didn't think Steve and Catherine would have offered if they didn't truly want to help him and he should consider accepting their gift graciously.

After waking up next to him in the morning, then watching as he moved around the room getting ready for work, she allowed her mind to wander to thoughts of what it might mean if she was back on the island full-time.

She was jolted from her daydream by the sound of her cell phone buzzing against the bathroom's marble vanity top.

When she saw the name Kapua Noelani on the caller ID she straightened up and pulled her robe tighter. She checked her hair in the mirror and blotted her lipstick then laughed at herself for worrying about how she looked when her potential new boss clearly wouldn't be able to see her over the phone.

"Mr. Noelani," she said cheerfully as she pressed the phone to her ear. "How nice to hear from you this morning."

"And you as well Dr. Asano," the director of the Clifford Trust responded. "I just wanted to thank you for coming in yesterday and tell you that both Mr. Albanese and I were very impressed with you. We haven't made a final decision yet, of course, we've still got other candidates to see, but I wanted you to rest assured you acquitted yourself well and both Patricio and I put you at the top of the list of candidates we've interviewed so far."

"Thank you, Sir." Gabby was extremely flattered. "And thank Mr. Albanese for me as well. It's an amazing opportunity and as I said yesterday if you choose me it will be an honor to curate your breathtaking collection."

"I appreciate you saying that," Noelani replied. "We'll be wrapping up the interviews this week and we'll have a decision for you by early next. I will give you a call personally whatever the verdict."

"I look forward to hearing from you." Gabby told him.

"Enjoy the rest of your visit to the island," Noelani responded kindly.

"I will." Gabby said. "Thank you."

She hung up the phone and smiled brightly at herself in the mirror. She had a feeling the interview went well, you can always tell those things, but hearing Noelani confirm her opinion had her walking on air.

She realized Danny, Steve and Catherine probably wouldn't be able to get away for a fancy dinner tonight, not with a second murder on their plates, but she hoped maybe the four of them could meet somewhere casual and grab a quick bite to celebrate her successful interview.

She decided to bring up the possibility to Danny when she talked to him later.

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Thursday 8:40 A.M.**

Steve sat at his desk working his way methodically through Eddie Garza's phone records. He had a black Sharpie in hand and was crossing out every call to the governor's phone lines, both home and office, as well as any other call made within the Capital Office Building. First and foremost right now he wanted to identify the person Eddie had described as an 'old friend' named Patsy and he knew none of the people working within the walls of the Capital would fit that bill.

The first thing he noticed after eliminating all other state government numbers from the list was that Eddie Garza clearly lived on take-out food. There were repetitive calls to a number of local restaurants, most of which Steve knew delivered.

Thinking of Eddie eating alone night after night in his office made Steve a little sad. He thought about all the times he and Catherine shared takeout, sitting on the lanai talking about their day, on the beach with the waves lapping at their feet, or sharing a pizza in bed trying not to get sauce on the sheets and he realized it wasn't the fact that Eddie ate so much take out that he found sad, it was the fact that he ate it alone.

When all the numbers Steve was fairly sure didn't have anything to do with the murder were removed he was left with a list of forty-two numbers. He pulled out his phone and dialed Eddie's office, hoping his secretary might still be on the job and able to answer a few questions.

When she picked up the phone in the anteroom outside the now empty office she told Steve she was being transferred to another department but said that if he sent her the list of remaining numbers she would be happy to take a look at them, compare them to her appointment book and phone log, and get back to him with a list of names to match the numbers as soon as possible.

She and Eddie weren't especially close, she had only been assigned to his office the month before, but she liked him very much and wanted to offer whatever help she could in the search for his killer

* * *

Steve stood at the fax machine sending a copy of the remaining numbers on the phone list over to Eddie Garza's secretary and wracking his brain for anything they might be missing that would help them gain some more insight into this case. He looked up when he caught motion out of the corner of his eye and saw an obviously agitated Danny coming across the bullpen muttering to himself with an angry look on his face.

"Something is up with Peter Fields," he said without preamble when he reached Steve.

"The guy from the convention?" Steve asked.

"Yes, the guy from the convention, Steven," Danny sighed dramatically.

"What did he do?" Steve gathered up the faxes that were sitting in the fax tray and leafed through them to make sure nothing important was being overlooked.

"It's what he didn't do," Danny huffed "He didn't show the sketch to anyone after Chin and I left it with him the other day." As he continued to get more worked up he waved his arms in irritation. "Not one of those people knew what I was talking about when I mentioned the sketch."

"I wonder what that's all about," Steve said warily. "He seemed very detail oriented to me. I don't think he'd just forget."

"No … he didn't just forget … something's definitely up," Danny said. "And on top of everything else … no one has seen him since last night. And I tried all three phone numbers on the card he gave us and they all went straight to voicemail."

Steve and Danny shared a suspicious look. They weren't sure whether Fields' sudden disappearance made him a potential perpetrator or a potential victim.

"I left word at the hotel for him to call as soon as he gets in," Danny said.

Steve nodded. "Let's see what we can find out about Peter Fields."

* * *

**Office of Gregory Howell Attorney at law**

**Honolulu**

**Thursday 9:45 A.M.**

Greg Howell, the attorney Danny retained to help him stop the bleeding on the already existing financial attacks against him and prevent any further damage moving forward, realized right from the start he had his work cut out for him with his newest client. He believed, as he knew Detective Williams did as well, that this was something more than just a run-of-the-mill identity theft case.

Someone was out to bring Danny Williams to his financial knees and ensure it would be years before he could get back on his feet.

The foreclosure was, of course, the most immediate problem. Unfortunately someone had manipulated the system in this case to the point where the usual extensions and delays that were made available to homeowners in crisis were not available to Danny. In the eyes of the law those extensions had already been exhausted, even though in truth Danny only found out about the foreclosure action a couple of days ago.

Unfortunately, in matters such as this proving you are the victim of identity fraud takes time and often before the matter is resolved by legal means the victim's home has been sold out from under them leading to almost unimaginable disruption and upheaval in their lives.

Luckily in Danny's case he had friends willing to step in and put up the money needed to stop the foreclosure.

That was a luxury very few people in his situation had.

Howell immediately filed paperwork to challenge the foreclosure but knew the case wasn't likely to be heard before the sale date. He explained to Danny that once they were able to prove he was a victim of fraud he would recover whatever money Steve and Catherine had put up and be able to pay them back. He knew his client wanted to exhaust all other options first but it relieved the stress of the matter significantly knowing Steve and Catherine's offer was on the table.

Moving on to the next issue, he was impressed with the work Catherine and Celia did to track down the specific computer that submitted the false death report. He took the information they'd already collected and turned some of his most aggressive investigators loose with it. He truly believed Danny was getting a raw deal and he wanted his best people on the case.

So much of his practice dealt with helping people who weren't exactly squeaky clean, and who may have been up to some financial shenanigans themselves, get out of hot water that when someone came along who was truly being shafted by the system Howell remembered why he went to law school in the first place and dug deep to help.

One of his investigators had some contacts in Florida law enforcement and was able to get an early report on what was on the hard drive seized from the intent café. Along with some fairly innocuous web surfing the person who submitted the report of Danny's death sent three other emails the same day, each one fastidiously composed and saved in WORD before being cut and pasted to an email. Which made recovering their contents a piece of cake. Thank you, Cloud.

One of the emails was a complaint letter to a local dry cleaner. One was a letter to the editor of the local Palm Beach paper detailing the grievances the writer had with the previously mentioned dry cleaner. And one was to a security company based out of New York City called First Rate Security discussing a recently repaired security system which according to the email was now working perfectly.

Greg Howell pulled the names of everyone associated with the local dry cleaner and the editorial staff of the newspaper and sent them to Danny along with the name of the security company to see if either the people or the businesses seemed familiar.

Danny scanned the email as soon as it arrived but was sidetracked by the details of the murder investigation and made mental note to look more closely at the names later.

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Thursday 10:30 A.M.**

Steve sat impatiently at his desk going over the last of Arthur Fogelsong's financials and waiting for news from either Duke or Eddie Garza's secretary.

Preferably both.

He snatched his phone from its place on the desk as soon as it buzzed and when he saw the call was from Duke he sent up a quick prayer and accepted the call.

"Give me some good news, Duke."

"_I might be about to do just that, Steve." _

"You have something?" Steve asked hopefully.

"_I think so,"_ Duke confirmed. "_One of the corporations that had an active rental with Diamond Head Rental Cars the night of the murder is called PVA Holdings. It's an umbrella corporation that does business all over the world including both in Hawaii and on the mainland."_

"And … " Steve waited for the good news.

"_And one of the companies owned by PVA Holdings is Airtight Security. The company that handled the software update on the surveillance cameras at the Capital Building the night Eddie Garza was murdered."_

"You have got to be kidding." Steve said incredulously.

"_I double checked it myself,"_ Duke assured him. "_We're still waiting on a list of everyone who had access to the car but still, it can't be as coincidence."_

"Definitely not," Steve agreed. "That's great work, Duke. Can you get me a list of the officers of Airtight Security?"

"_I'm already on it,"_ Duke replied. "_I'll have it over to you soon."_

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Danny Williams' Office**

**11:05 A.M.**

Danny had a small moment of panic when he looked at the caller ID on his ringing phone and saw The Academy of the Sacred Heart.

His first thought as always was of Grace; was she alright? Was there was some sort of problem? Was she sick?

Truth be told he felt a little guilty about spending the night at the Hilton after having sent Grace to stay with Rachel and Stan. The two things were completely unrelated of course, he would have sent Grace to her mother's under this circumstance whether Gabby was in town or not. Still he would never want Grace to think he sent her away simply to have more time with a girlfriend.

"Hello," he answered, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.

"_Detective Williams. It's Marla Tomazetti from the accounting office at Grace's school."_

Danny took a deep breath and gave his heart a minute to stop hammering in his chest.

"Yes. What can I do for you?"

"_I'm calling about the research you asked me to do on your tuition problem," _Marla replied.

"Right," Danny said. "What did you find out?"

"_I investigated the transaction numbers you left with me and talked to your bank and they assure me, as you did, that the money was transferred to our accounts."_

"Thank you," Danny said as he bit back the words 'I told you so'.

"_But there's still a problem," _Marla continued.

"What now?" he asked with barely controlled anger.

"_For some reason the money never showed up,"_ Marla said.

Danny took a deep breath to relax himself before speaking again. "Mrs. … Tomazetti was it … I'm not sure how that's my problem. I paid the tuition … even you acknowledge that. I can't be held responsible for what happens to the money after it leaves my bank."

"_We had our security firm examine the matter,"_ she assured him. _"I'm forwarding you a copy of their report. I'm going to keep looking into this till we find the solution. I just wanted to keep you updated. I apologize for any inconvenience this is causing you."_

Danny chuckled to himself.

If this woman only knew.

This seemed like the biggest problem in his life a few days ago and now it was barely a blip on the radar of the crap storm that was coming down on his head.

"Thank you. I appreciate it," he said.

"_Take a look at the report and let me know of any if the information associated with your account looks wrong to you._

"I'll do it as soon as I get a chance," Danny promised before hanging up.

His phone chimed with an email from the school just as his partner called the team together for a meeting.

* * *

Steve was standing at the smart table tapping his fingers excitedly as the rest of the team assembled.

"Do you have something?" Chin asked.

"I think so," Steve said. "According to Duke one of the rental cars out from Diamond Head Car Rentals the night Arthur Fogelsong was murdered was rented to a company called PVA Holdings which is the parent company of … are you ready for this … Airtight Security."

"The company that was working on the cameras at the Capital Building when Eddie Garza died?" Chin asked disbelievingly.

"The very same," Steve nodded. "Cath, start digging into Airtight Security. I need everything you can get on them. See if you can put together a list of their clients. Chin, Kono, add Airtight Security to the mix and see if it shakes anything loose in Garza's records."

"This could be big," Danny said excitedly.

"I hope you're right," Steve nodded. "I want to get this guy off the street before someone else gets hurt."

* * *

Thirty minutes later Catherine rushed into Steve's office.

"I called Airtight Security to ask about a client list. When they found out I was from Five-0 they not-so-politely declined and suggested I call their lawyer." Catherine looked at the notes she hastily scrawled on the legal pad while talking to the company.

"We don't have time to wait for lawyers to get involved," Steve contended.

"I know. But then I had a thought. If Airtight Security does business with the state then the governor's office has to have had them checked out before hiring them." Catherine's face wore the trace of a triumphant smile.

"That's my girl," Steve said proudly.

"So I called Celia James and she faxed over the testimonials and recommendations they filed with the governor's office when they bid the Capital Building security job. Guess who their most glowing recommendations were from?" she said, barely able to hold back her excitement.

"Clark and Amber Curry, well-known philanthropists and victims number two and three" Steve guessed.

"Got it in one," Catherine said jubilantly.

"Did you get a list of their corporate officers?" Steve asked, knowing it would be the first thing Catherine did once she had the news.

She held out a piece of paper. "Airtight Security, yes. PVA Holdings is gonna take a little more time. They're hidden behind all kinds of corporate privacy walls. They're basically an umbrella corporation so they're tougher to crack. But I'll get there."

"I know you will," Steve smiled. "Great work. And Cath?"

"Hmm," she looked at him and smiled.

"If this goes the way I think it might we'll have a real, solid break in the case to celebrate tonight."

Catherine waggled her eyebrows and made Steve laugh. "I can't wait."

* * *

Thirty minutes later Chin stuck his head into Steve's office.

"I think I have something." He indicated the smart table with a nod and Steve headed out to find the rest of the team gathering, having already been told by Chin on his way to Steve's office there was something new to report.

"Whatta ya got?" Danny asked as he leaned against the table.

Chin began swiping documents up onto the overhead screens.

"There's no direct connection between Airtight Security and the Currys," Chin said.

"That's impossible," Catherine argued. "Clark and Amber Curry both provided glowing references for Airtight Security when they were bidding on the Capital Building contract. Those recommendations were a big part of the reason Airtight got the job."

"I said the connection wasn't direct," Chin said. "I didn't say it wasn't there."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked. He was staring at the information on the screen but couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"The connection to the Currys is through a company called First Rate Security. Which is, not coincidentally I'm guessing, owned by the same umbrella corporation that owns Airtight Security."

"PVA Holdings?" Catherine asked.

"The one and only," Chin said. "First Rate Security not only handled private security for the Currys themselves but they also handled security services for all the events and functions Clark and Amber Curry hosted all over the country. The Currys were First Rate Security's biggest and most influential customer. The company was built almost solely off business it acquired through its connection to the Currys."

"Wait," Danny stared at the information on the overhead screen intently for a few seconds then pulled out his phone and began frantically searching for the email from Greg Howell. "Are you saying First Rate Security and Airtight Security are owned by the same company?"

"Yes," Chin answered, "Why?"

"Because according to my lawyer whoever sent the fake death report from the computer in Florida also sent an email to First Rate Security the same day."

"That can't be a coincidence," Steve said suspiciously.

Danny's eyes fixed on the screen and suddenly his mouth dropped open. "There's more," he said.

"More?" Kono asked.

Danny pointed to one of the documents on the screen. "PVA Holdings also owns Citizen's Loan Services."

"Oh my gawd," Catherine said as she leaned on the smart table as though she needed it to hold her up.

Steve reached out and grabbed her arm to steady her but he didn't seem to be on much more stable ground than she was.

"Are you gonna let the rest of us in on the secret?" Kono asked.

"Citizen's Loan Services is the company that handled the fake loan that led to my foreclosure," Danny spat out.

"So wait," Kono said, "Are you saying that whoever reported you dead, and whoever is behind the foreclosure on your house, is somehow connected to the murders?"

"It has to be," Steve said as he tried to wrap his mind around what he was seeing and hearing. "That can't possibly be a coincidence."

Catherine's eyes scanned the lists. "Look. The Academy of the Sacred Heart is also a client of Airtight Security. They used the school as a reference as well. They could have easily manipulated the tuition records."

"So whoever is messing with Danny's life might also be a murderer?" Kono asked.

"It sure looks that way," Steve said.

* * *

Within twenty minutes the team, now relocated to the conference room, gathered the names of all the officers of Airtight Security and began running them against the nine victims, plus Danny, looking for a connection. As they worked Catherine assembled the names of the officers of First Rate Security and added them to the mix. But every time she tried to get the identities of the officers of PVA Holdings she hit a brick wall.

As they were working Garza's secretary got back to Steve with the names corresponding to the questioned phone numbers. He glanced at the list but didn't see either Airtight or First Rate Security.

He folded the paper and shoved it into his pocket as the search continued.

"This is pointless," Catherine said as she closed her laptop. "I think it would be quicker if I go down to the courthouse and pull the incorporation records from there."

"Go," Steve said. "Call us as soon as you get a name."

"Will do," Catherine said as she headed for her office, grabbed her car keys and was out the door to the courthouse.

* * *

The team continued working together, using a slightly expanded version of the system Chin and Kono developed with the HPD officers assigned to help them, to find connections between the names on the now expanded list.

Danny pulled Steve aside and looked at him uneasily. "I think I'm gonna send Grace to the mainland to stay with my folks," he said with a slight shake in his voice. "I can't have her here on the island if the killer is the one messing with me."

"Danny," Steve laid his arm on his partner's shoulder. "I called Duke and had him place a discreet team on Grace. She's fine. And she won't know she's being protected so she won't be scared."

"You did that?" Danny's voice was choked with emotion.

"I also called Rachel and gave her a heads up. I just said we were on a dangerous case and all families were getting protection." Steve said.

Danny was too overcome to speak so he mouthed 'Thank you.'

* * *

Forty minutes later the call they were waiting for from Catherine came in. She had the name of the man who for all intents and purposes owned both PVA Holdings and all of its associated companies. There was a standard corporate structure in place for tax-purposes but it didn't take Catherine long to figure out why the name of the officers of the company were so hard to track down.

It wasn't names plural.

It was one name.

PVA Holdings was essentially a sole-proprietorship masquerading as a corporation.

"_All I have for a name is P. Albanese,"_ Catherine said. _"He's an attorney by trade but he made a killing in the stock market in the late eighties and started indulging his real interest—corporate security. He owns lots of associated companies from gun makers to Kevlar vest makers and everything in between. But security is apparently his passion."_

As Steve was relaying Catherine's information to Chin and the others Danny took a call from Gabby. She had apparently locked her purse and keys in her rental car and when she called for assistance the company said several of their vehicles travelling in a caravan had been involved in an accident and they were working hard to provide support to the injured so it might be several hours before they could get someone out to open the door.

Unfortunately her purse was locked inside the car so she didn't have money for a cab. She'd been doing a little shopping and was now stranded at the Island Breeze Boutique and wondered if there was any way Danny could come and get her.

"Hold on one second," Steve heard Danny say. Then he asked "Is Catherine still at the courthouse?"

"She's leaving now," Steve answered.

"Gabby's having car trouble. She's trapped at the Island Breeze Boutique. Could Cath possibly pick her up on the way back?"

"_I'll be glad to,"_ Catherine said having heard Danny's request. _"We'll be there soon."_

* * *

Once Chin added the name P. Albanese to the search everything came together

"I got it," he said triumphantly. "It was a civil case. All eight of the victims, wait all nine of the victims were connected through the same civil suit. Eddie Garza was connected too."

"Do you know what that means?" Danny said.

"He wasn't killed because he was working on the investigation," Steve said. "He was killed because he was connected to the lawsuit."

"Exactly," Chin nodded, hoping that knowledge would help assuage Steve's guilt.

"What was the name on the lawsuit," Danny asked agitatedly. "And how was I connected."

"Albanese versus the State of New Jersey," Chin read off the screen.

"That name sounds familiar," Danny said, searching his memory for anything he could come up with. "I arrested a guy named Albanese once. His father was connected and tried to make all kinds of trouble."

Chin skimmed the information. "Apparently Vitorio Albanese was suing the state of New Jersey because his son, Angelo, got killed by a piece of farm equipment after he got assigned to an agricultural work detail in prison. Every single one of the victims on our list had been deposed as a potential witness."

"What happened with the case," Steve asked.

Chin looked at the screen and winced. "It was dropped due to the death of the plaintiff, Vitorio Albanese." He continued to skim. "According to this he has a brother named Patricio Albanese."

"Patsy," Steve and Danny said in unison.

"Where is Patricio Albanese now?" Steve asked.

* * *

Catherine parked up the street and made her way to the Island Breeze Boutique to pick up Gabby and take her back to Five-0 headquarters.

"Thanks for doing this, Cath," Gabby said gratefully. "I can't believe I locked my purse in the car."

"No problem," Catherine said. "I was close by doing some research at the courthouse."

"Still, I know you guys are busy. I'm sorry for making you go out of your way," Gabby fretted.

"I told you it's no problem," Catherine assured her.

"I could have sworn I grabbed the keys when I got out of the car," Gabby shook her head. "I was just running in here for a second. I ordered a dress earlier and it's out of stock but they said they'd send it to me in Denver. Except I forgot to tell them to tell the delivery person to go to the back door, you know on account of the birds, so I was just running in for a second."

"That's always the way it goes," Catherine laughed.

As they exited the boutique they practically collided with a well-dressed man on the sidewalk.

"Mr. Albanese," Gabby said with a startled laugh. "I wouldn't have expected to see you here."

As he smiled a serene smile Gabby turned to Catherine. "This is Mr. Albanese. He's the CEO of the Clifford Trust and I'm hoping my new boss."

Suddenly Gabby noticed the look on Catherine's face as her hand moved towards her gun.

At the same moment Patsy Albanese knew without a doubt the pretty Five-0 officer recognized him.

* * *

"He's here on the island," Chin said breathlessly as he continued tapping keys.

"Wait," Danny began to panic. "Gabby mentioned some rich guy that interviewed her for that job she wants so bad. I think she said his name was Albanese. That's why it was so fresh in my mind."

Chin sucked in a breath. "It probably was him that interviewed her. He's the CEO of the Clifford Trust."

* * *

"Don't reach for your gun, Lieutenant Rollins. And don't reach for your phone." Albanese said in a soft, even voice as he indicated the two men standing behind him with suspicious bulges under their jackets Catherine recognized immediately as weapons. "If you do as I ask none of these innocent bystanders will get hurt."

Catherine watched the people passing by on the street, mothers pushing strollers, young children, an elderly couple.

She dropped her hand to her side.

"What's going on?" Gabby asked. Her face was a mixture of fear and confusion.

"I'm afraid you ladies are coming with me," Patricio answered.

**END CHAPTER 5**

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

**See AN's in Chapter 1**

Also don't forget you can find Mari on Twitter asking your opinions about all things McRoll in the REAL World! Mari21763 Always add I'm a #REALMcRoller

*******Sorry for the late posting today everyone. I had to make a drop off of emergency comfort supplies for a sick college student. Tomorrow we'll be back to the regular time.*********

* * *

**An Earlier Heaven (6/8)  
**

"**_A happy family is but an earlier heaven." George Bernard Shaw_**

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Thursday 2:15 P.M.**

The conference room at Five-0 headquarters, which mere minutes earlier had been awash in the kind of jubilation that always accompanied a big break in a case, the anticipation of knowing a murderer had been identified and was one step closer to being apprehended, was suddenly nearly silent.

Tension crackled in the air.

Steve held his cell phone to his ear, his forehead creased in concentration, and listened as Catherine's voicemail picked up for the third time in a row.

"_Hi, you've reached Catherine Rollins. I'm sorry I can't come to the phone at the moment. Please leave your name, number and a brief message and I'll get back to you."_

"Catherine, call me right away," Steve said tersely.

He disconnected the call then immediately tried again.

Danny, Chin and Kono, along with the HPD evidence specialists assigned to help them process the information collected from Eddie Garza's office, watched uneasily as Steve squeezed his eyes shut, phone held tightly to his ear, breathing deeply and rhythmically in through his nose and out through his mouth.

"_Hi, you've reached Catherine Rollins …"_

He disconnected with an angry poke at the screen.

"Why isn't she answering?" he asked, then looked at Danny. "Did you try Gabby?"

"Gabby's phone is locked in her car with her purse," Danny explained, his own tension level elevating in response to his partner's. "She called from the phone in the Island Breeze Boutique. What makes you so sure something's wrong?"

Steve's phone buzzed in his hand. "Finally," he said as he looked down.

His face dropped immediately when he saw the call wasn't from Catherine.

He hit the reject button and dialed her again.

"Albanese has to know we're getting closer," Steve said. "Once we traced the rental car to Airtight Security he had to know it was only a matter of time until we identified him. For all we know he has someone on the inside keeping him informed of exactly what's going on with the investigation."

"You think he has someone inside of the police department?" Danny asked skeptically. "Steve, you need to stop for a minute. You're not thinking straight."

"This man managed to convince the state of Hawaii you were dead, put your house into the final stages of foreclosure," Steve's voice rose with every word, "make your tuition payments disappear, and cut up a body on the lawn of the Capital Building without anyone noticing. So do I think he's getting help? I certainly don't think it's outside the realm of possibility."

By the time he finished his thought Steve was practically yelling. He slammed his hand down on the table then took a deep breath and continued in a more measured tone.

"Catherine was at the courthouse researching the ownership of PVA Holdings. If he found out about that …" Steve said, as once again Catherine's voicemail picked up and he angrily disconnected.

Danny wasn't sure what to think. He wanted to believe that Steve was overreacting, that Eddie's death had hit too close to home and was making him see danger where none existed. But some niggling fear in the back of his mind knew that wasn't the case. Knew Steve was right and that he had a sixth sense that alerted him when something was wrong with Catherine. He was questioning his best friend's judgment, playing Devil's Advocate, as way to keep his own panic at bay.

Catherine not answering one call from Steve immediately wasn't a cause for concern. She always got back to him as soon as she could. But she would never let this many consecutive calls go unanswered.

Something was very wrong.

"Chin, track the GPS on Catherine's phone," Steve said as he headed for the conference room door. "Danny and I are headed over to the Island Breeze Boutique. If Catherine and Gabby come back here don't let them leave and have Catherine call me right away."

"You got it," Chin said.

Five minutes later Steve and Danny were in the Camaro, accelerating out of the parking lot onto the highway when Steve's phone rang. Since he hadn't taken the time to engage the Bluetooth he tossed the phone to Danny and turned his attention back to the road.

"What have you got, Chin?" Danny asked as he placed Chin on speaker.

"Catherine's phone is on Waipeili Avenue, looks like it's about seventy-five yards north of the intersection with Ahali Road," Chin reported.

"Isn't that just about where the Island Breeze Boutique is," Danny asked. He knew he'd been to that particular store with Gabby in the past. It was one of her favorites on the island. But it had been a long time and remembering the location of dress boutiques wasn't his strong suit.

Still he breathed a small sigh of relief.

Catherine was right where she was supposed to be.

He turned towards Steve. One look at his partner's hard-set jaw and tightly coiled upper body told Danny he wasn't feeling the same sense of relief.

"Yeah, according to my map it's about one hundred yards north of the store. There's just one thing that's strange," Chin said and Danny's newfound sense of optimism disappeared immediately.

"What," Steve asked in a clipped tone.

"I've been watching the phone for about three minutes now and it hasn't moved at all," Chin replied.

"She's standing still?" Danny asked. "Maybe she's talking to someone … "

"If she was talking to someone she'd answer my call," Steve said, his sense of dread growing with each passing minute.

He pressed the accelerator closer to the floor.

"Steve, she's not far from the boutique," Danny argued, trying to keep his partner calm. "She's on a busy street. Maybe someone needed help. You know Catherine. She'd jump right in if she was needed."

"I hope you're right, Danny." Steve said as he continued to grip the steering wheel.

Twelve minutes later he turned the Camaro onto Waipeili Avenue and screeched to a stop in a fire lane twenty yards south of the Island Breeze Boutique. He jumped out of the car and did a quick assessment of the area. There were no apparent disturbances on either side of the street and no emergency vehicles in sight.

There was also no Catherine.

Danny joined him on the sidewalk and they started walking towards the area from where Chin reported Catherine's phone was emitting a signal. When they reached the Island Breeze Boutique they ducked inside looking for Gabby hoping Catherine might be with her, that there was some sort of explanation for her failure to respond to Steve's calls.

There was no sign of either woman inside the store.

"Excuse me," Danny said to the statuesque clerk behind the counter.

"Yes, Sir. What can I help you with?" she asked with practiced friendly smile of someone who had spent years working in retail.

"I'm looking for a woman who borrowed your phone to call for a ride about half an hour ago," Danny said, his own panic now starting to get the better of him. "Pretty … petite … long brown hair."

He had convinced himself on the ride over that Gabby would be there waiting when they arrived. And that she and Catherine would be laughing over some funny story that explained why Steve's calls had gone unanswered.

Clearly that wasn't going to happen.

"Yes," the clerk nodded. "Dr. Asano. I remember her. She was very apologetic about needing the phone. I think she said she locked hers in her car."

"Where is she now?" Danny looked around the store anxiously.

"Her friend came to pick her up. Excuse me just one second." The clerk crossed the small display floor and opened one of the locked dressing rooms for a young woman with several dresses in her hand she obviously wanted to try on.

"What did her friend look like?" Steve asked when the clerk returned to her position behind the counter.

"A pretty brunette," the smiling woman said. "I think she was a police officer. She had a badge."

"Did you see what direction they went when they left?" Steve turned and looked out the store's large front windows towards the sidewalk.

"Not really," the clerk replied, "But it was funny. Dr. Asano said everyone she knew was busy and she was afraid they wouldn't have the time to come pick her up."

"What's funny about that?" Danny asked.

"Well it's funny because first the woman showed up to get her but then I think another person must have shown up too because I saw her and her friend talking to a man on the sidewalk out front and then I'm pretty sure they got in his car," the clerk shrugged.

Steve pulled his phone from his pocket and showed the clerk a picture of the sketch drawn by the police artist. "Is this the guy?"

"Yeah, that's him," the clerk said, immediately picking up on both Steve and Danny's distress. "Is everything okay?"

Steve took two steps away and dialed a familiar number.

"Chin, get a full crime scene team down here to the Island Breeze Boutique right away."

"Steve, what's happening?" Chin asked.

Ever since Steve and Danny left he'd been hoping Catherine and Gabby would walk in the door and explain that this was all just a big misunderstanding.

But he knew from the tone of Steve's voice that wouldn't be happening.

Then his boss uttered the words Chin had been dreading.

"Catherine and Gabby were abducted by Patsy Albanese."

* * *

**Albanese Safe House**

**Honolulu**

**Thursday 2:45 P.M.**

"I just … I don't understand what's happening," Gabby said in a teary voice as she sat down on the nearest flat surface, a couch, out of fear her trembling legs wouldn't hold her up much longer. "Patricio Albanese is the CEO of the Clifford Trust. He's a multi-millionaire. A billionaire maybe."

"He's also a killer," Catherine said as calmly and soothingly as she could as she continued to move around the room attempting to get a feel for their surroundings. She needed to keep Gabby's understandably spiraling emotions under control. Getting hysterical wouldn't help anything at this point.

"How can that be?" Gabby was finding it nearly impossible to wrap her mind around the events of the last hour.

"I'm not exactly sure," Catherine sighed as she crossed the room and sat next to her friend. "But what I do know is that he's murdered nine people. Either ordered them murdered or done it himself. And he's also the person behind all the bad things that have been happening to Danny."

"Are you sure? I mean … could you be wrong?" Gabby looked at Catherine with pleading eyes. She desperately wanted all of this to be some sort of mistake

"No, we're sure," Catherine said as she squeezed Gabby's hand.

Gabby began to breathe in an uneven manner and Catherine was afraid she was going to hyperventilate. She gently guided Gabby to lean over and place her head between her knees. As soon as she was sure Gabby was alright, well as alright as a person could be in this situation, Catherine returned to assessing the room they currently found themselves in.

At first glance it seemed like an average game room in a normal house. Similar to thousands all over the island. The floor was carpeted. On the far side of the room stood a full-sized slate top pool table complete with a large, ornate cue rack hanging on the wall behind it.

In the center of the room a comfortable couch and several armchairs sat facing a cabinet that Catherine assumed, under normal circumstances, acted as a television stand.

But these weren't normal circumstances.

The television, along with any other electronic equipment that might have been present at one time, had been removed in anticipation of their arrival.

The room was on the basement level, with two small windows high on the far wall, several thick metal floor to ceiling poles which helped support the joists that held up the rest of the house, and most importantly only one exit.

They were placed in the room by one of Albanese's men shortly after they arrived at the location and as he left the room, after telling them "the boss" would be in to speak to them soon, Catherine heard the distinct sound of several deadbolts being engaged from the other side of the door.

They were locked in.

She quickly assessed any other possible ways out and saw nothing. The air conditioning duct work was covered by heavy steels grates mounted to the wall with large screws sunk into the framework. They would be impossible to remove without a drill.

The windows were sealed and to Catherine's trained eye also appeared to be protected by an alarm. They were extremely small, probably too small for either of the women to get out, but even if they could manage to defeat the alarm and squeeze through the small opening it wouldn't matter anyway. Catherine could see the window wells were covered with the same type of heavy grating that protected the duct work.

Her search for a means of escape was brought to an abrupt halt when the door to the room opened and Patricio Albanese stepped in.

"Dr. Asano, Lieutenant Rollins," he said immediately. "Let me apologize for any inconvenience I've caused you both by bringing you here. I'm sorry for this temporary disruption in your lives. It was, unfortunately, unavoidable."

"If you were really sorry you'd let us go," Catherine said resolutely. She kept her head up and looked Albanese directly in the eye.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," he said regretfully. "But you _will_ be released in due time. You have my word on that. I have no issue with either of you. I would never kill just for the sake of convenience. I'm not an animal."

"I beg to differ. I've seen the results of your handiwork," Catherine replied as the image of Eddie Garza's mutilated body lying at the base of the flag pole pushed its way into her mind.

This man could tell himself whatever lies he wanted about his behavior but as far as Catherine was concerned he was a monster.

Well-dressed, well-mannered, and well-heeled.

But a monster nonetheless.

"Tell me what's going on here. Please. Someone explain this to me," Gabby begged.

She was beginning to spiral towards hysteria and Catherine quickly wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders and whispered soothing words in her ear.

"Was this all a ruse? Is there even a job? Was my interview real?" Gabby tossed out angrily.

"I assure it's no ruse. The job is very real and you are very much the frontrunner for it," Albanese said as he took a seat in the armchair across from the women, turning it slightly in order to face them directly. "Everything you were told about the job at the Clifford Trust is 100% true. Well, except for one thing."

"What one thing?" Gabby asked irately.

"If you are offered the job, Dr. Asano, and if you accept it, you won't be working alongside me. My time with the Clifford Trust is over. My destiny is set to play itself out tomorrow night. I assure you one of the saddest things about that is that I will not live to see that amazing collection displayed in all its stunning glory." A look of true sadness passed over Albanese's face.

"I don't understand," Gabby began to cry. "If I'm offered the job? It doesn't seem likely I'll still be around next week …"

"Please," Albanese held up his hands. "I assure you you are in no danger whatsoever from me or any of my associates. I would never harm two such beautiful women. As I said, my dealings are not with you."

"A kidnapper with standards," Catherine scoffed.

Albanese smiled. "Your reputation for toughness precedes you Lieutenant Rollins."

Catherine's back straightened. "If we're in no danger from you then please tell me what it is we're doing here."

"As crass as it sounds, and let me apologize in advance," Albanese said candidly, "I need the two of you for bait. To draw in the two people I need to complete my plan."

Both Catherine and Gabby braced themselves.

They knew what he was going to say before he said it.

An eerie smile appeared on Albanese's face as he said the names. "Detective Williams and Commander McGarrett."

* * *

**Waipeili Street**

**Outside Island Breeze Boutique**

**Thursday 2:50 P.M.**

The sidewalk outside the Island Breeze Boutique was crowded with law enforcement officers. The team charged with searching Gabby's car found the doors were indeed locked, the keys were in the ignition and her purse, with her phone and wallet inside, was sitting on the front seat.

A number of officers searched for Catherine's phone while still others checked surveillance cameras from the surrounding establishments attempting to catch a glimpse of Patsy Albanese in the company of the two women.

"We found something Commander McGarrett," a young uniformed officer called from his spot, squatting near the curb, about a hundred yards up the street.

Steve and Danny ran immediately to his position.

"What is it?" Steve asked as they reached him.

The officer pointed down into a storm drain whose grate had been recently removed.

Steve's breath caught.

He put on a pair of evidence gloves, reached into the storm drain and retrieved Catherine's phone, her service weapon and her badge.

He looked at her phone.

Six missed calls.

He ran his thumb over the surface of her badge.

He took a deep breath and called for Duke who was at his side immediately.

"Take these to the lab and have them dusted for prints and any other trace evidence then bring them back to me at Five-0 as soon as you can."

"Steve?" Duke asked.

It would be unusual for the lab to return evidence in the early stages of an investigation.

"Those are the first things Catherine is gonna ask for when she gets back," Steve said resolutely as he headed off towards the Camaro with Danny hot on his heels. "And I don't plan to disappoint her."

* * *

**Albanese Safe House**

**Honolulu**

**Thursday 3:00 P.M.**

"Why do you want to kill Danny?" Gabby asked with a trembling lip.

"Detective Williams was the one who set the destruction of my life in motion," Albanese said matter-of-factly. "That is why I saved his death for last."

"What do you think he did to you?" Gabby demanded. "He's a good man."

"Ignore him," Catherine said gently. "Danny didn't do anything to him."

"You're correct, Lieutenant Rollins," Albanese conceded. "It isn't what Detective Williams did to me. It's what he did to my brother Vitorio."

"What did he do to your brother then?" Gabby's tears began to flow anew. "None of this makes any sense."

"He took away my nephew, my brother's only son." Albanese's eyes turned dark and a frown fell over his face. "Vitorio lost his will to live after that. He died of a broken heart. One year ago tomorrow to the day."

"If Danny put your nephew in jail I'm sure he deserved it," Catherine said defiantly.

Patricio nodded. "You're probably right. He probably did. He was young and stupid and the family business held a certain appeal to him."

"The family business being the Mafia?" Catherine asked.

"My brother Vitorio and I grew up in the life. It was all we knew," Patricio explained as though his upbringing somehow excused his monstrous acts as an adult. "We watched our father fight his way through every day. It's a brutal life. I wanted something different so I went to law school. Vitorio, my big brother, he paid my tuition. Never once did he ask for anything in return. He wanted more for me as well and I worked hard to make him proud."

"So what went wrong?" Gabby asked.

"One night my nephew Angelo got picked up moving a shipment of illegal merchandise across Newark. It wasn't even for the family. It was a side job. Which Angelo had been warned against taking repeatedly but the young rarely listen. They think they're invincible," Patricio smiled ruefully. "Anyway, one the people involved in the deal was an undercover agent. They busted Angelo and took him to the police station."

"Sounds like the police were doing their job," Gabby said.

"Maybe so," Patricio acknowledged. "But Detective Danny Williams got my nephew in an interrogation room and when he found out who Angelo was, or more accurately who his family was, he offered Angelo a deal if he would flip and turn state's evidence. Not on the people involved in the side job, on the family. But my nephew—he wasn't built like that and he refused."

"He made his choice," Catherine said unsympathetically.

"Except that Detective Williams wouldn't give him a break," Albanese's carefully constructed façade began to slip. "My nephew's lawyer fought for no jail time but Danny Williams was having none of that. He showed up for every hearing. Told the judge Angelo was uncooperative. In the end my nephew got sentenced to two years in a medium security lockup."

"Sounds like he got better than he deserved." Catherine spat out. She was not going to cower in the face of this man. He may be well-dressed and well-spoken but he was a mobster at heart.

And she wasn't impressed.

"As part of his prison work program he was assigned to a new vocational project," Albanese continued. "He didn't ask to be part of it. He didn't want to be part of it. He just wanted to do his time then go home. But he didn't have a choice in the matter. They assigned him to work on the prison farm."

"That doesn't sound so bad." Gabby said honestly. She thought it certainly sounded better than sitting in a cell all day marking time.

"On his second day he lost his balance and fell into a piece of machinery," Patricio recited coldly. "He was dead before they could get the machine turned off.

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Thursday 3:15 P.M.**

"HPD is executing warrants on every piece of property Albanese owns on the island," Kono said as Steve and Danny blew into Five-0 headquarters like a very focused storm.

"Tell them to include anything owned by Airtight Security or PVA Holdings. I want men at every one of those addresses now," Steve barked.

"I'm on it," Kono said.

"Steve we need to be out there ourselves …" Danny said angrily.

Steve turned to his partner. "Listen to me, Danny. We need to think. We can't go off half-cocked. It won't help us find Albanese and more importantly it won't help us fine Catherine and Gabby."

Danny took a deep breath though trying to get his emotions under control at this point was an exercise in futility.

Steve clarified. "So far every person Albanese has killed was directly related to his nephew's death and his brother's lawsuit. Every one. He's methodical. He's got a plan. Catherine and Gabby had nothing to do with the lawsuit."

"So why did he grab them?" Danny shouted.

"He needs them for something," Steve's thoughts were racing. "To help him complete his plan in some way."

"Which means?" Danny wasn't following.

Something was tugging at Steve's memory but he couldn't quite grasp onto what it was.

Until the split second when it all became clear.

"That death report, Danny," Steve breathed faster. "Do you remember the details?"

Steve remembered them.

Every one.

They were burned into his brain.

Danny looked his partner in the eye and the light began to dawn.

Steve bolted into his office, opened his desk drawer and grabbed the copy of the report.

He began to read.

"_On Friday night NYPD received a distress call from a citizen who claimed a man had been crushed by a piece of machinery inside a warehouse close to the docks. Paramedics were dispatched immediately. When they arrived they found the warehouse in flames and several hysterical witnesses screaming that a man was trapped inside. Witnesses reported the man became trapped in the machine, suffered serious injuries, and was unable to escape when the fire started. Witnesses also reported they were unable to free the man before being forced to flee the building themselves._

_Firefighters and the bomb squad were called as the witnesses stated a substantial explosion preceded the fire. After the flames were extinguished and the scene was declared safe by the bomb squad the NYFD recovered the body of a man, later identified to us as Daniel Williams, a former resident of New Jersey who now makes his home in Hawaii. He was pronounced dead at the scene from his injuries. _

_The coroner was unable to identify the body by usual means due to the extreme nature of his injuries. According to the report Mr. Williams' remains was barely recognizable as belonging to a human being._

_We ascertained the identity of the victim by speaking to witnesses, including Mr. Williams's girlfriend and several friends who happened to be present at the scene of the accident."_

"Oh my God," Danny gasped. "He's describing his plan."

"Exactly! Gabby is still alive, Danny," Steve said excitedly. "And I can't let myself think anything other than that Catherine is too. He needs them to finish up his sick plan. We just have to find them before that happens."

Danny grabbed the death report and began combing it for details. "We need to figure out exactly what he's up to."

* * *

**Albanese Safe House**

**Honolulu**

**Thursday 3:15 P.M.**

"After my nephew's death my brother came to me and told me he wanted to sue the state of New Jersey, the prison, whoever invented the machine that killed Angelo, the people who backed the program, the people who recommended Angelo for the program. Everyone he could think of. He was angry and he wanted someone to pay."

"It sounds like Angelo's death was nothing more than a terrible accident," Catherine said.

"Maybe so. But a grieving father sees things differently," Albanese said. "He came to my office. Something he almost never did. And he practically begged me. Pants, he said to me, he called me pants, the only one who could get away with that nickname, Pants he said, I need your help."

"He wanted you to act as his lawyer," Catherine guessed. "And help him get revenge for his son's death."

"Yes, he did." Albanese nodded. "It really was quite a departure for him."

"How so?" Catherine asked.

"Getting revenge through legal means as opposed to something more … permanent," Albanese smiled.

"And you refused," Catherine nodded. "To help him I mean."

Patricio shook his head regretfully. "I had a choice to make. He wanted to name Amber Curry and her husband Clark as defendants in the suit. They funded the Vocational Training in Prison Program. They pushed to get it into the New Jersey Prison system as a pilot program. They hoped to take it national. I tried to talk him out of including them but he was adamant."

"And they were your biggest client," Catherine scoffed. "So you couldn't go against them."

Patricio shook his head. "The business I could have replaced. But I was in love with Amber. We'd been together right under her husband's nose for years. I couldn't sue her. I couldn't hold her pet project up to ridicule. So I chose love and I told my brother he'd have to find another attorney to handle the case."

"Which apparently he did." Catherine cast a quick sideways glace at Gabby who seemed slightly calmer than when the conversation began.

"Yes, he hired another lawyer. But it wasn't the same as if I had taken the case," Albanese said. "The man had no passion. No fire for vengeance or justice. It was just another case to him. He filed the paperwork. He deposed the witnesses. But it was clear the case would be bogged down for years and without a zealous advocate would most likely end up going nowhere."

"I heard from friends and family members Vitorio wasn't doing well. His health was failing. He wasn't eating. He rarely left the house. But he pushed on. Because he wanted vengeance for his son. A year ago tomorrow he died. Doctors couldn't find a cause. I know it was a broken heart."

Catherine and Gabby watched tears flood Albanese's eyes as he struggled for composure then spoke again.

"I thought I had time to make up with my brother. But I didn't."

"You said you loved Amber Curry but you killed her," Catherine pointed out.

"I chose love over family," Patricio's mask of calm was now firmly back in place. "It cost me my brother. He died while we were at war with each other. And in his last days he knew, he had to have known, that his little brother pants chose a woman over him. After all he'd done for me. This crusade … these deaths … it's my atonement. My way to show him he was more important to me than anything. I should have chosen him."

"It won't bring your brother or your nephew back," Catherine said softly.

"You're right. It won't. But it's my way of showing my brother I love him." Albanese stood. "I'm sorry ladies. Unfortunately I'm going to need to keep you here overnight. I've worked very hard to make sure everything is in place for the final act of my plan and I can't let you interfere."

"What are you going to do?" Gabby asked fearfully.

Albanese leveled a wicked smile at them. "I want Detective Williams to be faced with the same choice I was faced with. The woman he loves or the man he loves like a brother."

"You misunderstand my relationship with Danny," Gabby argued, sensing an opening. "I've been in Denver for months. We aren't together. I'm not his girlfriend. This is just … it's not the same as what you had with Amber."

"Maybe not," Albanese looked at Gabby, "but I saw the look on his face when he found you waiting for him outside Iolani Palace."

"You were watching?" Gabby was appalled at the thought this man had been spying on her since she arrived on the island.

"I just wanted to confirm my suspicions about Detective Williams' feelings," Albanese turned to leave then turned back. "I know a man in love when I see one. I want you to know, Dr. Asano, that after interviewing you and realizing you are in fact the perfect candidate to be placed in charge of the Clifford collection, something that I love very much, I made a small change to my plan."

"What?" Gabby asked fretfully.

"I decided not to have you with me in the final stages. I don't want you to witness what's going to happen. I don't want you to be scarred to the point you wouldn't accept the position curating the collection." Albanese held his arms out at his sides. "Still I need Detective Williams to think you're present, which is what led to today's unfortunate detainment."

"This is crazy," Gabby whispered as much to herself as to anyone else.

I'll l be leaving tonight to prepare for my final showdown with Detective Williams and Commander McGarrett." Albanese crossed to the door. "I'm sorry to leave you but I simply can't make the final preparations from this location. Despite all the money and connections I have, I still can't get reliable cell service here. But my associates have been instructed no harm is to come to you. After my plan is complete you'll be released. "

"You can't write a script for someone else's life," Catherine said. "Steve and Danny won't let this happen."

"They won't have a choice," Albanese said. "Good day, ladies."

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Thursday 4:00 P.M.**

"Steve, we're pulling everything we can on Albanese's whereabouts since he arrived on the island," Chin said as he approached Steve and Danny who were standing at the smart table poring over property records, looking for any warehouses Albanese might own and be planning to use as the site of his final showdown with Danny. "Credit card receipts, phone records, anything that might tell us where he's been."

"Good," Steve said, "Also, have Duke do an all-out press to find Peter Fields from the inventor's conference. I want him in an interrogation room yesterday."

"Got it," Chin said.

"Commander McGarrett," a young man Steve recognized as one of the lobby security guards entered the bullpen accompanied by a well-dressed man of about forty-five. "This is Kapua Noelani from the Clifford Trust. He said it's urgent he sees you immediately. It's about the Albanese case."

"What can I do for you?" Steve gave the man his full attention.

"I'm just … I'm not sure … I'm so overwhelmed …" Noelani stammered.

Steve led the man into his office and directed him to sit on the couch. He leaned against the front of his desk while Danny joined them and remained standing just inside the office door.

Noelani took a minute to collect himself then spoke. "Patricio Albanese has been the attorney for the Clifford Trust, as well as our CEO, for over a year now. I hired him myself. His credentials were impeccable. His work has been tireless. He was the one who recommended we call in Dr. Asano for an interview."

Steve wasn't sure exactly what the man was trying to say and he didn't have time to waste. "But … "

"This was faxed to my office forty-five minutes ago." Noelani held out a piece of paper towards Steve who stepped forward and took it immediately. Danny moved to stand beside his partner and read along.

They immediately took in the flawless script on the personal letterhead of Patricio Albanese.

"_To Whom It May Concern,_

_It is with great sadness I find it necessary to remove myself from the duties with the Clifford Trust … "_

"Skip to the last paragraph," Noelani said with a quivering voice.

"_Upon receipt of this fax please take it immediately to the Five-0 offices and deliver it to Commander McGarrett and Detective Williams. Tell them I have Dr. Asano and Lieutenant Rollins and if they ever want to see the women alive again they'll await my instructions."_

"Was there anything else," Steve asked, jaw tight.

Danny grabbed the fax out of his hand and read it again.

"No … I'm just so stunned. And shocked. And sorry." Noelani could barely maintain his composure.

"Thanks for coming in," Steve said as he held open his office door. "We'll let you know if we need anything else."

* * *

**Albanese Safe House**

**Honolulu**

**Thursday 6:30 P.M.**

Three hours later the pizza that had been provided for Catherine and Gabby's dinner sat uneaten on the coffee table in front of them.

"We have to get out of here. We have to warn Steve and Danny," Catherine said. "We can't let them walk into a trap. Especially not one set with us as bait."

Suddenly the door opened and two men, one of whom they had heard referred to as Enzo by Patricio Albanese, entered.

Enzo carried two sets of silver handcuffs.

"What are you planning on doing with those?" Catherine asked warily.

"I'm going to use them on the two of you so I can get some sleep," Enzo said as he swung the cuffs from the end of his finger.

"Why do you need us handcuffed so you can sleep?" Gabby asked.

"Because I don't trust you and if you anything happens during the night, and God forbid you were to escape … my life … our lives," he indicated the other man, "will be over. Albanese would kill us in a heartbeat."

"Please, don't," Gabby said tearfully. "We won't try to escape."

"Like I'm gonna take your word for it," Enzo scoffed. He walked to the center of the room and pointed to one of the room's metal support posts. "Have a seat ladies. And don't try anything or my brother will be forced to go against Mr. Albanese's wishes."

Catherine and Gabby looked at Enzo's brother who placed his hand atop his holstered gun.

"Just do what he says," Catherine said softly to Gabby and they made their way to the pole and sat down on opposite sides facing each other.

"Back to back," Enzo ordered and Catherine glared at him as the women turned around. He ordered them to put their hands behind their backs and he cuffed them to the pole then double checked the cuffs were tight.

"I'll be back in the morning," he said as he stood.

"Wait," Catherine stopped him.

"What now?" he sighed.

"I have to take a sleeping pill or I won't ever get to sleep," Catherine said.

"Well you're out of luck because I don't have any," Enzo sneered.

"I do," Catherine said quickly. "They're prescription. They're in my purse. Can you get it for me please?"

"No," Enzo said decisively.

"If you get me the pill I'll be out like a light … all night," Catherine said, trying to make the prospect sound as enticing as possible.

Albanese had warned the men that Lieutenant Rollins was a trained naval officer and that they needed to be careful when dealing with her.

"Fine," Enzo agreed. If she was out all night from the effects of a sleeping pill maybe he could rest a little easier.

As Enzo's brother stood guard by the door while Enzo went to retrieve Catherine's purse Gabby whispered, "What are you doing?"

"Just play along," Catherine said. "These guys don't seem like the sharpest knives in the drawer. Maybe I can figure out a way to get us out of here."

They ended their conversation when Enzo returned with the purse.

"Can you uncuff me for just a minute so I can find the pill?" Catherine asked.

"Fine," Enzo huffed. "But if you try anything my brother will put a bullet in your friend's head."

Catherine cast a reassuring look over her shoulder in Gabby's direction as Enzo removed her cuffs.

She reached for the purse and Enzo stepped back. "Not so fast," he said.

He dumped the contents on the couch in the center of the room. When two loose tampons came out and landed on top of the pile he recoiled in horror.

'Thank God for the power of Tampax,' Catherine smiled to herself.

She quickly reached down picked up a pill bottle in the center of the pile, casually but purposefully scattering some of the purse's other contents in the process. She took one pill out of the bottle, put it in her mouth then tossed the pill bottle back on the pile, praying the men didn't look at the label.

When she was through she went back to her position behind Gabby, sat down and allowed herself to be handcuffed again.

Enzo walked to the couch as if to pick up the scattered items and return them to Catherine's purse but recoiled at the sight of the tampons. Catherine held her breath as he checked the purse for any potential weapons and seeing none dropped it and walked out.

As soon as she heard the door lock Catherine spit the pill across the room.

"What was that?" Gabby asked.

"One of Cammie's anti-diarrheals from the vet," Catherine answered.

"And you wanted that why?" Gabby winced.

"I didn't want that," Catherine said. "I want my lipstick case. Now I just have to figure out to get over there and get it."

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Thursday 8:00 P.M.**

"Albanese had help abducting Catherine and Gabby," Chin said as he approached the smart table where Steve and Danny were now looking at aerial surveillance records of the warehouse district trying to spot anything unusual that might indicate where Albanese planned to carry out his showdown with Danny.

"Who?" Steve and Danny asked simultaneously.

"We don't have an ID yet but we have a clear picture." Chin plugged a thumb drive containing surveillance video from a camera across the street from Island Breeze Boutique into the one of the smart table's ports and swiped the video up onto the screen.

They watched as Gabby got out of her car, dropped her keys into her pocket, and headed for the front entrance of the boutique. As she stepped onto the curb a man of about 25, well-built, athletic looking, wearing a white baseball cap, brushed against her. As soon as Gabby entered the store the man, who had clearly pickpocketed her keys, opened her car, put the keys in the ignition, locked the doors again and walked away.

"Let's find out who that guy is," Steve said.

"The picture is pretty clear. I'll try facial recognition," Chin offered.

"Thanks," Steve said as his phone buzzed. He hoped against hope for a second he would see Catherine's name on the display but realistically he knew her phone was safely tucked away in his desk drawer.

Instead he saw the call was from Duke.

"What's up, Duke," he said as he answered.

"_Steve, we have Peter Fields in custody."_

* * *

**Albanese Safe House**

**Honolulu**

**Thursday 9:30 P.M.**

Catherine spent quite a bit of time running through possible escape scenarios in her head before settling on a plan. As far as she could tell Enzo and his brother were the only two people in the house aside from herself and Gabby.

She needed a way to gain the advantage over the two of them.

She needed to divide and conquer.

"Gabby, I need you to listen to me," Catherine said softly. Gabby had been alternating between complete silence and soft crying since Enzo left the room. "Take a deep breath. Another one... One more. Ok good. Feel better?"

"Well I'm not sure better is the word I would use but … yes." Gabby sighed.

"Ok I need you to listen to me carefully," Catherine said in a more authoritative tone than she would normally use. She needed to make perfectly sure she had Gabby's full attention. "Are you listening?"

"Yes," Gabby fought hard to focus on Catherine's voice.

"We have to get out of here so we can warn Steve and Danny," Catherine said, preparing to lay out the basics of the plan. She knew the first step was going to be the hardest one to sell Gabby on. "And to do that we're going to need to get past Enzo and his brother."

"That doesn't help with the staying calm thing," Gabby said as her voice began to get high and wobbly.

"I know," Catherine said sympathetically. "But it just means we need to keep our heads even more. We're not going to get more than one chance to get ourselves out of this."

"Are you sure we're getting one chance?" Gabby asked hopefully.

"Well that depends on you," Catherine said.

"Me?" Gabby was horrified. If this plan depended on her they were most likely all going to die. This kind of thing was so far out of her range of life experience she could barely convince herself it wasn't a dream.

"Yes, you," Catherine said confidently.

"Isn't this your department?" Gabby asked. "If you're counting on me to come up with a plan we're in trouble."

"I don't need you to come up with the plan," Catherine chuckled. "I just need you to help me carry it out."

Gabby took a deep breath. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to help me get over there to my purse," Catherine stated.

"Why? They searched your purse. They took your phone and your gun." Gabby didn't know what Catherine had in her purse that would possibly get them out of the mess they currently found themselves in.

"They took my gun," Catherine said. "But they didn't take my lipstick."

"What good is your lipstick gonna do, MacGyver?" Gabby sighed.

"It's a stun gun," Catherine said matter-of-factly.

"A what?" Gabby practically screeched.

"Shhhhhh," Catherine hissed. "It's a stun gun. It was Steve's idea of a clever Valentine's Day gift."

"You two are very strange, you know that?" Gabby said.

"I bet you'll be singing a different tune once that lipstick gets us out of this," Catherine said smugly.

"Maybe," Gabby conceded. "How are to gonna get over there?"

"I need you to stand up," Catherine directed. "Can you do that?"

"I think so." Gabby pressed her back to the pole and pushed upward with her legs. After quite a bit of struggling she managed to get herself into a standing position. "Now what?"

Catherine stretched her hand out behind as far as she could and placed it perpendicular to the floor. "Now I need you stomp on my hand as hard as you can."

"WHAT?!" Gabby recoiled.

"Shhhhh," Catherine warned again. "Listen to me. I need to get my hand out of these cuffs so I can get to the couch."

"Catherine, I can't … " Gabby protested.

"Listen to me, Gabby. It's our only chance. I need to get that lipstick case and then when Enzo and his brother come back we can get the jump on them."

"Catherine … "

"Just do it, Gabby. Right on my knuckles."

Gabby took a deep breath and blinked back tears.

She couldn't believe she was about to do this.

But Catherine certainly knew more about how to get out of these situations than she did.

"Tell me when."

"Whenever you're ready," Catherine said resolutely.

Gabby raised her foot to knee level, glanced down to make sure she knew where Catherine's hand was, and brought her heel down as hard as she could on Catherine's knuckles.

Catherine bit her lip to avoid crying out.

**END CHAPTER 6**

* * *

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	7. Chapter 7

**Sammy's Notes:** I can't thank you guys enough for all the AMAZING reviews and the tweets and the emails and your general AWESOMENESS in supporting both this story and the entire REAL World project. You make the whole process of writing and posting an absolute pleasure. I've fallen behind on responding to the reviews as usual and again I apologize. Please know that I am reading every one, am touched deeply by your very find words, and will respond soon. I promise. It's just that once I get in posting mode I can't seem to stop tinkering and tweaking the story and I get so wrapped up in that I lose track of other things.

To those of you who reviews as Guests—since I can't thank you personally please accept this as my great big THANK YOU!

So I know I promised you an earlier posting today. Sorry. Real life, and my need to tinker with every story, did not cooperate. LOL I'd promise an earlier posting tomorrow but I don't want to jinx anything.

Also don't forget you can find Mari on Twitter asking your opinions about all things McRoll in the REAL World! Mari21763 Always add I'm a #REALMcRoller

* * *

**An Earlier Heaven (7/8)**

"_**A happy family is but an earlier heaven." George Bernard Shaw**_

**Albanese Safe House**

**Honolulu**

**Thursday 9:45 P.M.**

"That was good," Catherine ground out, breathing heavily. "Really good."

In through her nose.

Out through her mouth.

"One more time," she said encouragingly. "Just like that again."

She leaned her head back against the cool, metal support pole and braced herself for what was coming.

"Are you sure," Gabby asked timidly as she looked over her shoulder.

"Positive," Catherine assured her. "Just do it."

Quickly, before she could lose her nerve, Gabby raised her knee and brought her foot down hard again on Catherine's hand.

This time she heard a sickening crunch and Catherine felt several knuckle joints give way as she squeezed her eyes closed tightly and breathed through the pain. She concentrated her thoughts on breathing in and breathing out.

She was pulled back to the moment by the sound Gabby's frightened voice.

"Are you ok, Catherine?" she whispered frantically.

"I'm good. I think that did it," Catherine said as she continued her rhythmic breathing. "Great work."

Gabby slumped against the pole morosely and slowly slid back down to a sitting position.

"Just so you know," she grumbled. "I'm throwing away these shoes."

Catherine chuckled through her pain. "That might be a bit extreme."

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

"They're great shoes."

"True, but now every time I wear them I'll hear that nauseating sound of bones breaking," Gabby sighed as she swallowed hard.

"Knuckles aren't bones," Catherine replied as the initial wave of pain finally began to subside. "They're joints."

"Oh well, that's different then," Gabby said sarcastically.

"Well the shoes are Jimmy Choo," Catherine pointed out. "Unless I actually killed someone with one I don't think I'd throw them out."

"You know what's strange?" Gabby tilted her head thoughtfully.

"What?" Catherine asked as she began to maneuver her hands into position.

"I bet you _could_ kill someone with a shoe." Gabby's voice held a touch of awe.

"At least three ways," Catherine said. "Ok, here we go."

She manipulated her wrist, rotating it as gently as possible until her now dislocated knuckles slipped through the small circular opening and she was able to pull free of the handcuffs. She held her left hand out in front of her and surveyed the damage as well as she could in the darkened room.

"Great news," she whispered happily, "from what I can tell you dislocated my pinky and ring finger knuckle joints. Those ones heal the fastest."

"I'm not sure whether to be terrified or impressed at the kinds of things you know." Gabby shook her head.

Catherine chuckled softly as she got to her feet and felt her way across the room to the couch. She quickly located the purple lipstick case amongst her other possessions and returned to her seat behind Gabby.

"Did Steve really get you a stun gun for Valentine's Day?" Gabby asked.

"He really did, and you know what, I love it," Catherine replied. "I think he got this particular one because the color matches a shirt I have that he's especially fond of."

Catherine could hear Enzo and his brother moving around upstairs and hoped they'd come down for one last check before calling it a night. She wasn't sure she could afford to wait until morning to warn Steve and Danny they were next on Patricio Albanese's list.

She removed the top of the stun gun case to confirm it was fully-charged.

It was.

"Ok, here's how this is gonna go," she said softly as she tried to ignore the throbbing in her left hand. "When they come back in here I need to get at least one of them as close as possible. That way I can put one down with the stun gun and deal with the other one-on-one. I'm not sure exactly how I'm gonna do this so I just need you to follow my lead and whatever happens … go with it. Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Gabby sat up straighter and steeled herself. "I'm ready."

She hoped her words sounded more convincing to Catherine than they sounded to her own ears.

"Okay good." Catherine placed her arms behind her back, the stun gun held tightly in her right hand, and tried to conceal the fact that her left hand was no longer in the cuffs. In the darkened room she knew the men wouldn't be able to tell until they got close enough she could strike.

As long as no one turned on the light she knew she'd be in good shape.

"Catherine," Gabby asked softly. "Do you really think we're gonna get out of this."

"I really do," Catherine said confidently. "I've barely gotten to cook in my new kitchen and you haven't even seen the backsplash up close yet. And there's no way I'm missing Christmas in New Jersey at Nonna's."

Gabby laughed. "Grace can't stop talking about the Christmas trip. She's very excited."

"That makes two of us," Catherine said, then rethought, "Well three of us really. Steve is every bit as excited as I am."

Before she could say anything else Catherine heard footsteps coming down the hall.

"Here we go," she said to Gabby. "Just like we planned."

She relaxed back against the pole and feigned a restless sleep as she heard the deadbolts unlock. The door opened part way and Catherine could sense one of the men, she wasn't sure which, leaning in to make she everything was secure. As he started to close the door Catherine scraped the chain of the handcuffs that no longer bound her hands against the pole.

Enzo froze and listened.

Catherine repeated her movements.

Enzo sighed and moved further into the room. He knew there was no way the women could get free, he'd double checked the cuffs himself, but he also knew that if anything went wrong in the final stage of this plan he was a dead man.

Patricio Albanese, Patsy as they called him in the old neighborhood, hired Enzo and his brother Argo nine months ago. He told them at the time it was to help with a 'special project' he was working on. The money was good and the hours were light so they didn't ask too many questions. Then one day in New York they opened the box they were supposed to be disposing of and saw body parts.

Enzo knew in that moment what his "boss" was capable of. And he didn't want to end up on Patsy Albanese's bad side.

He decided against turning on the light because he didn't want to wake the sleeping women. He figured the one who took the sleeping pill, the one Albanese warned him to be careful of, might be having a drug-induced nightmare. He'd seen a story on TV about the weird things some people do when they've taken a sleeping pill. Personally he'd always found a couple of shots of whiskey did the trick.

He crept closer.

Catherine couldn't believe their luck. As far as she could tell Enzo, at least she thought it was Enzo, had come down to do the last check of the night alone.

She rattled the handcuffs again.

He thought momentarily about going back to get Argo to cover him but he knew his brother would never let him hear the end of it.

How he'd been spooked by two handcuffed, unarmed women.

He leaned down slowly to double check that the cuffs were secure.

Catherine's right hand shot up rapidly and she discharged her stun gun against his neck.

He collapsed forward, hitting his head on the support pole on the way to the floor.

Catherine jumped to her feet.

"I can't believe that worked," Gabby hissed.

With light now filtering in through the open door Catherine could see more clearly. Her heart jumped as she realized their luck just kept getting better.

Enzo's gun was holstered on his hip.

She removed it swiftly then held it against her body with her injured left hand while she used her right hand to search Enzo's pockets for the handcuff key.

"Yes!" she hissed as she found it.

She released Gabby's cuffs then handed Gabby the key.

"Here, get mine," she said as she held out her right hand that still had the cuffs attached. "I can't hold the key with my left hand on account of … you know."

Gabby unlocked the cuff and finally both women were freed.

Enzo, who ended up face down on the floor after his encounter with Catherine's lipstick case stun gun, began to stir.

"Quick," Catherine said, "grab an arm."

She tucked Enzo's gun inside the waistband of her pants and used her good hand to maneuver one of Enzo's arms around the left side of the pole as Gabby managed to do the same on the right. They cuffed him just as he began to regain consciousness.

Catherine grabbed Gabby's elbow and pulled her away from the now awakening, and very angry, Enzo.

Before she could decide what their next move should be a looming shadow blocked out a section of the light from the hallway.

It was Enzo's brother.

"What's taking so long," he said angrily as he stepped into the doorway.

He heard Enzo muttering and cursing and immediately pulled his gun and turned on the lights.

He saw his brother on the floor, cuffed to the pole then saw Catherine and Gabby several feet away standing beside the couch.

He pointed his gun at Catherine at the same time she raised Enzo's weapon with one hand and leveled it at him

* * *

**HPD Interrogation Room**

**Thursday 10:00 P.M.**

Steve and Danny burst into the interrogation room to find a terrified Peter Fields sitting alone at the table, knees shaking and hands wringing nervously.

They passed on the pleasantries and got right to the point.

Danny took a position with his back against the wall, just inside the door while Steve took first crack at the witness.

They didn't really have a plan for how this was going to go.

But Danny knew one thing for sure, he was walking out of this room with more information than he walked in with, whatever it took to get it.

"Tell us what you know about Patricio Albanese," Steve said as he sat down across from Fields and fixed him with an icy stare. "And it would not be a wise decision for you to leave anything out."

"I don't know who you're taking about," Fields said as every single physical indicator from his squeaking voice to his sweaty palms screamed he was lying.

Steve and Danny exchanged a look and Danny gave a small nod which Steve knew indicated they were about to engage in a little round of Bad Cop/Worse Cop.

"Do we," Steve indicated Danny with his hand, "look like we're in the mood to play games?"

Fields straightened his posture and fixed his face with a disdainful look. "I told you I have no idea … " he started.

"Cut the crap," Danny exploded from his position across the room. "I have far more important things to do than stand here listening to you tell lies … and not very good ones at that. Tell us where Albanese is and where he's hiding the women."

"What women?" Fields said bewilderedly.

Both Steve and Danny took note, even in their own heightened emotional states, that Fields seemed genuinely confused when asked about Catherine and Gabby.

"Oh," Danny nodded as he took off his badge and weapon and passed them to Steve. "So that's how it's gonna be."

Steve calmly accepted the items Danny handed him then looked squarely at Fields and shrugged his shoulders with a look that said 'I warned you'.

"Wait, wait, wait," Fields stammered as he cast a terrified look at Danny. "OK, I'll admit I know Patsy Albanese. But I don't know anything about any kidnapped women."

Danny leaned against the table, well within Fields' personal space, and glowered at him.

"Start at the beginning," Steve said in an even tone. "Tell us everything you know. And don't leave anything out. I think you've seen how angry that makes my partner."

Fields case a wary glance and Danny then addressed Steve.

"I met Patsy years ago at some charity event thrown by the Clark and Amber Curry. I don't remember specifically which one. There were so many. But if you wanted to get anywhere in the agricultural research field you had to kiss their ass so I showed up every time I was invited.

Amber Curry is the one who introduced us. Everyone knew her and Patsy were an item. Even Clark. But he didn't care. The guy was a billionaire. He got more action than he knew what to do with.

Anyway, Patsy was just getting started in the security business then. Our paths would cross occasionally and he was always cordial."

"So tell me something," Danny leaned towards Fields and as he advanced Fields leaned back further in his chair. When Danny was mere inches of the skittish inventor's face he asked, "How did you go from what… occasional cocktail party chit-chat partner … to helping him commit nine gruesome murders?"

Danny pulled away slightly but never took his eyes off Fields.

Both he and Steve heard the man take an audible gulp.

"I didn't help with the murders. I swear I didn't," Fields insisted vehemently as he shifted slightly in his chair away from Danny. "I wasn't aware Arthur Fogelsong was going to be killed here in Hawaii until it was too late to stop it."

"What do you mean too late to stop it?" Steve growled.

"I didn't even know Patsy was on the island until the night of the murder," Fields explained. "Then I saw him in the lobby of the hotel talking to Arthur before he left to go take pictures at the beach. By that time it was too late. What was I supposed to do?"

"Call the police," Danny yelled and Fields jumped.

"The police would never have believed me," Fields argued. "Broke inventor accuses billionaire businessman of committing seven gruesome murders. I knew by the time I could get anyone to listen to me Arthur would be dead."

"What made you think Arthur Fogelsong was in danger from Patsy Albanese," Steve asked as he folded his arms on the table and leaned forward.

Fields now felt like he was under attack on two fronts.

"When I heard the lawsuit was dropped after Vitorio's death I figured that was the end of it you know. Though I'll admit I was hoping maybe one of the other relatives would revive it. So I put a Google Alert on everyone involved in the case. All the witnesses, the judges, the lawyers. I figured if something was happening again I'd be the first to know. Then I started getting articles about their murders and I noticed how they were all killed the same way. I knew it had to be related to the case and I knew it had to be some relative of Vitorio. Patsy is the only one left. So when I saw him there in the lobby, I knew Arthur was a goner."

"Let me get this straight," Danny said menacingly. "You knew this man was committing gruesome murders all over the country … and that your friend was next … and you did what … nothing?"

"There was nothing I could do," Fields argued. "Albanese is a dangerous man. If I said anything he would have killed me too. I knew the killings wouldn't last forever. Eventually he'd take care of everyone on the list."

"If you want to use that as an excuse for not calling the police… whatever." Steve's face showed his obvious disgust. "I mean I don't buy it but I'm not a sniveling coward like you. But how could you not warn your friend?" he asked.

"Arthur wasn't my friend," Fields spat out. "Arthur stole my life."

"What are you taking about," Danny asked. "You couldn't say enough good things about him the first time we met you."

"Arthur and I studied engineering together at Oklahoma State. We always had kind of a friendly rivalry. After we graduated we were both working on developing an automated harvester," Fields recounted. "It was kind of a race to see who could get their machine into production fastest. I mean the market was hungry for the product so whoever got there first was gonna have a big advantage."

"And Arthur got there first," Danny guessed.

"Only because he took short cuts," Fields snotted. "My machine had additional guards and safety features and that made it more expensive and time consuming to manufacture. Arthur cut corners with his."

"And …" Steve said scornfully. He was not about to spend any more time than was absolutely necessary listening to Peter Fields attempt to justify his inaction when it wasn't helping them locate Catherine and Gabby.

"He got his to market first and unfortunately it's speed over safety in the agriculture game." The words tumbled out of Fields' mouth in a way that made it perfectly clear the pain of that defeat still felt fresh even all these years later. "Arthur made millions and I'm still waiting for my first big breakthrough invention. When Patsy's brother filed the lawsuit he came to me and inquired about some papers I'd filed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration years ago claiming Arthur's machine was unsafe. He wanted to know if I'd be willing to repeat my allegations in court and I said I would."

"Did Arthur ever find out you planned to testify against him?" Danny asked.

"Of course he did," Fields sneered. "The agricultural research community is like a small town. Everybody knows everybody else's business. I figured he'd be furious when he heard but he wasn't. He said he understood and I should do whatever I felt was best. That was typical Arthur. Never held a grudge. Not even against Vitorio Albanese even though the man was trying to ruin him in court."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked.

"Arthur heard Vitorio wasn't doing well and he told me he went to visit him. He said he could tell the stress was killing the guy so he offered him money. Offered him a chance to settle the case and to work with the Vocational Training Program to make it safer. But Vitorio Albanese wasn't having any of that. He wanted revenge. He wanted his day in court."

"So you think Arthur would have been willing to talk to Patsy if they ran into each other?" Steve asked, remembering Keone Akuini's description of the two men chatting in the parking lot.

"I know he would have," Fields nodded. "He felt bad about Angelo Albanese's death. He didn't believe his machine was to blame, you could have never convinced him of that, but still he felt bad."

"So where is Patsy Albanese right now? What's his next move," Danny leaned in menacingly again.

"I honestly don't know what his plan is. The only thing I know … " Fields hesitated.

"What?" Danny growled.

"Look if he finds out I told you he'll kill me." Fields leaned back in his chair.

Steve stood and leaned across the table.

"If you don't tell me," he said, his voice a deadly calm, "and anything happens to Lieutenant Rollins or Dr. Asano, I will kill you. You have my word on that."

"And then I'll revive you and kill you again," Danny promised.

"All I know is that he asked me to pull some strings and get ahold of the exact machine that killed his nephew so I did. He had it shipped here to the island. He told me he had it modified with enough explosives to take out a city block."

* * *

**Albanese Safe House**

**Honolulu**

**Thursday 10:15 P.M.**

"Don't do anything stupid," Catherine said as she leveled her gun at the man's head. She could sense Gabby frozen in place beside her and worried her friend might panic and do something rash. The last eight hours had been hard on her and she could only imagine how much worse it was for Gabby.

Not only was she grabbed off the street, detained against her will and chained to a pole in a basement but it was all at the hands of a man who less than forty-eight hours earlier had interviewed her for her dream job.

It was a lot to take in.

"Shoot her, Argo," Enzo spat out. "That bitch tasered me."

"It wasn't a Taser, it was a stun gun," Catherine corrected then turned back to the man in the doorway who she now knew was named Argo. "I repeat, don't do anything stupid."

"Don't you do anything stupid," he said with a cocky smile as he looked her up and down in a way that made her feel like she needed a Silkwood shower.

"Listen, I'm with Five-0. Just put the gun down," Catherine said calmly as she stepped in front of Gabby to shield her friend in case things started to go wrong. "No one has to get hurt here."

"I don't know. You look kind of awkward holding your gun with one hand like that. I bet they didn't teach you that at Five-0 school," Argo said mockingly. "Maybe _you_ should put _your_ gun down."

"Don't you worry about me," Catherine said flatly. "I can shoot with one hand."

Argo began to advance slowly into the room. "I don't know. I think I'm willing to take a chance."

Catherine wasn't sure if the man was extremely brave or extremely stupid, maybe a little of both, but she knew she had to act before things got out of control. "Pick a number between one and eight," she said as she looked at the row of pictures hanging on the wall to her right.

"What are you talking about?" he sneered. "I'm not gonna be distracted by some stupid game."

"Just shoot her," Enzo yelled again. "I don't care what the boss said. Just shoot her."

"Shut up," Catherine heard Gabby say from behind her, directed at Enzo. "She's not talking to you."

"You might have gotten one over on my brother," Argo said with a patronizing tone. "But I'm not Enzo. Your mind games aren't going to work on me."

"Please, just humor me," Catherine said. "There are eight pictures on the wall right there," she indicated with a nod. "So pick a number. One to eight."

"Five," he said arrogantly.

Catherine turned slightly and fired a shot dead center of the fifth picture.

Then another dead center of the fourth.

Argo's mouth dropped open as he looked at the pictures then back at Catherine who once again had her gun leveled straight at his head.

"I forgot to ask if you meant fifth from the left or the right," she said. "So I did both. Now, here's your next choice, between the eyes or through the heart. Pick."

Argo swallowed hard then crouched down slowly, placed his gun on the floor, and kicked it away.

"Smart man," Catherine smiled. "Now why don't you just go over there and have a seat across from your brother. My friend here is going to help you on with your handcuffs and if you so much as twitch in her direction in a way I don't like, you're dead."

Catherine would have preferred to cuff Argo herself and keep Gabby away from the action but she knew the gun in her hand was the only thing keeping them at bay at the moment so she had to risk it. She hoped her intentionally escalated tough talk would serve its purpose and help keep the men in line.

And it did.

As Gabby was cuffing Argo and Catherine was retrieving his weapon from where he'd kicked it half under the couch, she heard Enzo mumble, "You should have just shot her."

She finished up, checked to make sure both men were secured, then crossed to Catherine.

"You're kind of a badass," she said with nothing but admiration in her voice.

"You're not so bad yourself," Catherine smiled.

"Does that mean I'm the Bess Marvin to your Nancy Drew?" Gabby asked.

"Better," Catherine smiled, "You're the Honey Wheeler to my Trixie Belden. Now let's get out of here."

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**10:25 P.M.**

Danny walked into Steve's office, breathing deep to keep his emotions under control, and handed his cell phone to his partner.

"It's Grace. She wants to talk to you," he said then mouthed 'she knows' as he left Steve's office and went to the bullpen. He'd just wrapped up a very emotional conversation with his daughter and needed a few minutes to pull himself together.

He tried hard to shield Grace from most of the ugliness that came with his job. He never talked about cases at home or in any situation where Grace might overhear. And as tough as it was sometimes, and as much as it was easier said than done, he tried very hard to leave work at work. To not let it affect his home life.

He wanted to protect Grace from the harsh realities of the world for as long as he could.

Not that he sheltered her. He didn't. Like all good parents he warned her from a very young age about 'stranger danger'. As she grew, and began to spend more time outside of his direct supervision, he talked to her about how even adults you know can sometimes do bad things and if she ever felt threatened or uncomfortable she should speak up immediately.

Now that she was getting older the topic of boys was beginning to creep in. It was all still innocent crushes at this point but Danny was well aware that before he knew it the conversations would be turning more serious.

He just wanted her to enjoy being young and carefree for as long as possible.

Unfortunately, no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't always shield her from what was going on. Especially not when it directly affected people she knew and cared about.

This was one of those times.

Word of Catherine and Gabby's abduction had been all over the news from the minute the crime scene unit descended outside Island Breeze Boutique. The local press was already on high-alert after a mutilated body turned up on the Capital Building lawn so as soon as they got even a whiff that the two cases might be related every local station moved to wall-to-wall coverage. Soon afterwards the story hit the internet news sites and Twitter lit up with theories and speculation as well as false sightings. The conspiracy nuts were having a field day.

If you were on the island, unless you were living under a rock, you couldn't help but hear about the missing women.

Rachel apologized for letting Grace watch so much of the coverage. By the time she realized what was happening their daughter had already seen and heard too much. Danny assured it was ok; there was nothing she could have done in this case to prevent Grace from finding out.

In the opening minutes of his conversation with Grace he worried if he would be able to find the words to comfort his frightened child.

Until he realized that wasn't the purpose of the call.

His sensitive, caring, kind-hearted daughter called to comfort him.

To make sure he was ok.

To make sure he was taking care of himself.

And when she was through talking to him, assuring him she had faith in him and she knew he was doing everything he could, she asked to talk to Uncle Steve.

Danny looked through the glass wall into Steve's office and watched as his partner nodded, listening intently to everything Grace had to say.

He knew she loved her Auntie Catherine and she was so happy to have Gabby back in her life.

Danny prayed they could bring them both back unharmed.

For his sake.

For Steve's sake.

And for Grace's sake.

When he saw Steve disconnect the call and lay the phone on his desk he reentered the office.

"Everything ok?" he asked.

"Yeah," Steve smiled. "You've got a great kid there, Danny."

"I know," Danny nodded. "What did she say to you?"

"She said she knows we're doing our best but that she wanted to make sure we remember to eat because she knows sometimes when we're busy on a case we don't and her Health teacher said people don't make good decisions when they're hungry."

"She's very practical sometimes," Danny smiled.

"And then," Steve paused and took a deep breath, "she said she knew everything was going to be okay because Auntie Catherine promised her just the other day that she was never going to leave and Auntie Catherine always keeps her promises."

* * *

**Albanese Safe House**

**Honolulu**

**Thursday 10:30 P.M.**

After securing Argo to the support pole in the basement along with his brother and promising to send someone back at some point to retrieve them, Gabby and Catherine bolted up the stairs to look for a way out.

They grabbed a cell phone they saw laying on the table in the breakfast nook.

No service.

They looked around for a land line.

There was none.

They checked the garage for any kind of running vehicle.

Nothing.

"I don't see any keys around here anywhere so it wouldn't matter if we found a car or not," Gabby said in an attempt to console herself.

"If we find a car we don't need keys," Catherine said. "I'll hotwire it."

"Of course you will," Gabby said as they moved out onto the house's small front porch.

Suddenly Gabby felt herself being yanked back inside.

"What's wrong," she asked exasperatedly as Catherine pulled her down below the level of the window.

"I saw someone out there patrolling the property. One guy for sure, maybe two," Catherine said.

"What's that mean?" Gabby asked fearfully. "What do we do now?"

Catherine raised her head and peeked outside again, careful to stay out of view as much as she possibly could.

She noticed when they initially arrived that the house was isolated. By her estimation it was at least several miles to the nearest neighbor and there was no guarantee they'd have a phone or any way to reach Steve and Danny. She recalled that when they turned off the main road they travelled several miles down a winding gravel lane before turning off onto an almost equally long driveway. She replayed the ride from the Island Breeze Boutique in her head and took a minute to get her bearings.

"I don't see any other choice," she said as she squatted down beside Gabby and pressed her back against the wall. "We're gonna have to make a run for it. Between these two guns I have ten bullets left. Those men out there have automatic weapons. And as soon as Argo and Enzo get the one brain cell they share firing again they're gonna start screaming for help and bring those guys in here."

"So what do we do," Gabby asked fearfully.

"If we slip out now we have the element of surprise," Catherine said as she peeked outside one more time. "Once they hear the guys downstairs yelling for help we lose that. They seem to be walking some sort of grid pattern around the perimeter. We wait till they're as far away from the house as they're going to get and then we head for the woods. We have to go now, Gabby."

Catherine looked into her friend's frightened eyes and tried to convey as much encouragement as she possibly could.

"Let's go then," Gabby replied determinedly.

The two women slipped out of the house and made their way through the shadows to the edge of the gravel driveway. As soon as they hit the gravel a motion sensor light lit up the entire area and the guards turned and yelled "STOP!"

"Run," Catherine exhorted and they headed across the yard as fast as they could move, Gabby following her friend's steps as closely as possible.

They rushed into the woods at top speed, not slowing down even when they were struck in the face by tree branches or had their clothes caught by thorns.

"Don't stop for anything," Catherine yelled over her shoulder as she did her best to dodge tree roots and assorted other hazards on the forest floor.

"I won't" Gabby yelled back as the two women continued to run a zig-zag pattern through the dark woods.

After they'd run for about fifteen minutes Catherine stopped to assess the situation.

"Town should be that way." She pointed up a fairly steep hill to their right as she gulped in air. "Are you good to go?"

"You haven't let me down so far, so you lead, I'll follow," Gabby panted.

Catherine didn't want to mention it to Gabby but she had a feeling the men who'd been patrolling the yard weren't all that far behind. That meant they didn't have the luxury of stopping to catch their breath for even a minute.

She turned and headed up the slope with Gabby right behind her. The ground beneath their feet was soft and the new moon didn't provide much light by which to avoid things like loose rocks and downed tree limbs. As a result the trip was difficult and full of small slides backward.

When they finally crested the hill they were both exhausted and dirty but it was all Catherine could do not to scream in triumph.

She knew where they were.

Practically back to town.

At the bottom of the hill she saw the familiar lights of the shopping plaza where the Foodland she and Steve shopped at regularly was located. She knew there would be people there working the overnight stocking shift and a phone she'd be able to use.

She grabbed Gabby's hand and the two women took off down the hill.

In less than twenty minutes they were at the door of the Foodland. Catherine hoped one of the employees who knew her was working so they would feel safe opening the door immediately to let her and Gabby in.

She wanted to get inside and call Steve as soon as possible but she realized that together the two of them made quite an alarming sight. Covered in dirt, out of breath, sporting facial scratches and random bloody scrapes. She understood how someone might find them frightening and choose to wait for police to arrive to deal with them.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Jirou Ko, the store owner, approaching.

He appeared, as she suspected anyone in his position would, surprised by the sight of two women, clearly in distress, pounding on his door at midnight.

That certainly wasn't a normal occurrence.

He hurried to let them in and as he got closer he recognized one of the women as Catherine. He nearly dropped his keys in his haste to get them inside the store and offer whatever assistance he could.

He and his wife had been following the news of their disappearance since it first broke earlier in the afternoon.

"Catherine, are you okay?" he asked as the door finally slid open.

"We are now," Catherine said, relief flooding her voice. "We need to use your phone. We have to call Steve and Danny and then HPD."

"Please. Please. Use my office. I saw the story on the news. They said you'd been kidnapped. I came in to make a spread of food to send over to Five-0 and HPD in the morning. I know it's not much but … it's what I do."

"That's very sweet, Jirou. And very generous," Catherine told him. She moved to hug him then pulled back. He was wearing a crisp white shirt and apron and she hesitated to get him dirty.

He drew her into a tight hug.

"Clothes can be washed, Catherine," he whispered in her ear. "Or thrown away. But people are precious."

"Thank you," she said, her voice choked with emotion.

"And you too," Jirou said as he turned to Gabby and drew her into a hug. "Any friend of Catherine's is a friend of mine."

"Thank you," Gabby smiled as she returned the hug gratefully.

"I'm not sure but there might be people following us," Catherine said.

She looked across the parking lot and saw nothing but she wanted to warn Jirou just in case. The last thing she would ever want was to bring trouble to his store.

"Nawai, Likeke, Paulo," Jirou called.

Within seconds three very large men emerged from the aisles where they had been stocking shelves.

"Watch the door and make sure no one gets in until the police arrive, please," Jirou said.

"Our pleasure," one of the men said as they took up positions at the front of the store.

Jirou led the woman to his office and pointed to the phone on the desk.

"I better call Steve first and let him know we're safe," Catherine said. "Could you possibly call 911 off your cell phone and tell them a Five-0 officer needs assistance."

"Absolutely," Jirou said, then noticed Catherine's hand. "Catherine, are you ok?"

"No worries. I'll be fine," she assured him

"I'm going to get you some ice." Jirou exited the office as Catherine dialed.

She wrapped her arm around Gabby to calm her shaking friend.

"We're fine now," she said just as Steve picked up the phone.

"McGarrett," he said gruffly, clearly wondering why Foodland was calling at midnight.

"Steve, it's Catherine," she blurted out. "Gabby is here with me. We're both fine. We're at Jirou's Foodland."

It took Steve a minute to realize he wasn't dreaming.

Catherine really was on the phone.

He felt himself gasp and it was as if he could breathe again after hours of holding his breath.

"You're ok?" he whispered reverently as he stood up from his desk chair prepared to go to wherever she was immediately.

His words and movements drew an instant reaction from Danny who was sitting on the couch.

"A few bumps and bruises but we're fine," Catherine told him, her voice suddenly thick with emotion.

She believed in Steve and she knew that together he and Danny could handle pretty much anything that came their way. But those hours in the basement, knowing he was in the crosshairs of a brutal serial killer, not sure if she was going to be able to warn him in time, picturing Eddie Garza's mutilated body over and over, it all finally caught up with her.

"Is Danny with you?"

She realized it was a stupid question.

Of course they were together at a time like this.

"He's right here," Steve said, realizing that his partner was now standing directly beside him.

"Put me on speaker please," Catherine said happily.

"Go," Steve said as he pressed the speaker button and tossed the phone to Danny. He grabbed his keys and Danny was already following him out of the office when he heard Gabby's voice.

"We're fine, Danny! We're ok!" Gabby said breathlessly.

"Oh thank God, oh thank God," Danny kept repeating over and over.

The two men made it down the stairs across the lobby and into the Camaro in record time.

"We're on our way," Steve said as he buckled his seat belt and backed the car out of its space at a speed that would have made Mario Andretti wince. "Danny and I are on our way. We'll be there in 20 minutes. Make it ten."

"We'll be here," Catherine smiled.

"I love you Catherine," Steve said.

"I love you Steve," she beamed.

She hung up the phone and looked at Gabby who was grinning. "What?"

"I just can't get used to hearing you two say that."

Catherine smiled. "I thought it might feel weird after all this time but it feels like the most natural thing in the world."

"You didn't tell him about your hand," Gabby grimaced.

"I figured I'd wait till they gets here and sees for himself I'm basically okay before we go into that," Catherine laughed.

"Probably a smart move," Gabby chuckled then suddenly she turned serious. "Honestly Catherine, you were great back there. I feel bad that you got caught up in this. If you hadn't come to pick me up you never would have gotten kidnapped and your hand would be ok … " Tears filled her eyes. "But I never would have made it out of there alive without you."

Catherine hugged her friend. "We would have come and found you. Please know that, we would have come and found you and we would have never stopped until we did."

"But it might not have been in time," Gabby tears started to flow. "I know what Albanese said about not hurting us but I'm not sure you can take a killer at his word."

"We made it out. We're safe. Steve and Danny are safe. That's all that matters," Catherine said as she wrapped Gabby in a tight hug.

A few minutes later Jirou reentered the office with a bag of ice and reported HPD was on the way.

Seconds later they heard Steve and Danny's voices as they entered the store.

Catherine looked at her watch. "Seven minutes. That might be a new record."

* * *

Steve and Danny hit the office at the Foodland store on a dead run.

"Oh thank God," Danny said as he grabbed Gabby and wrapped her in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry. This is all because of me."

"I'm ok. Everything's fine. I'm ok," Gabby kept repeating as much to convince herself as Danny.

Steve stepped wordlessly across the office and embraced Catherine.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you," she replied.

He wrapped his arms around her and allowed her breathing and her warmth and the fact that she was squeezing him back calm him and convince him that she was truly okay. After holding her close for a few seconds he felt something very cold against his stomach and stepped back.

"What happened to your hand?

**END CHAPTER 7**

* * *

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	8. Chapter 8

**Sammy's notes: **Well, here we are guys. The final chapter. It's been an amazingly fun ride for me, as always, and I hope it's been the same for you. Thanks for all the AWESOME reviews, emails and tweets. You guys really are the best. I've said it before but it can't be said enough. You inspire me every single day to want to write more and better. Your energy, your ideas, your enthusiasm and your insights blow me away.

To Mari &amp; ilna, there aren't enough superlatives in the world. You are both simply INCREDIBLE!

To Sandy, without who none of this would be possible because I would have lost my mind long ago.

To all the Guest reviewers—THANKS and remember you can always email us mcrollintherealworld at yahoo dot com if public reviews just aren't your thing.

* * *

**An Earlier Heaven (8/8)**

"**_A happy family is but an earlier heaven." George Bernard Shaw_**

**Jirou Ko's Foodland**

**Friday 12:30 A.M.**

"It's fine," Catherine smiled reassuringly. "Honestly. It's just a couple of dislocated knuckles. Nothing to worry about."

Steve removed the ice pack and laid it on the nearest flat surface, which in this case happened to be the neat, well-ordered desk of Jirou Ko. He gently lifted her hand, now not only bruised and swollen from the initial injury but also covered in dirt and small scratches from their run to freedom, and examined it closely.

"What happened," he asked again, his jaw tight.

Catherine knew he wasn't going to be happy hearing about any scenario that ended with her injured so she decided to just rip off the Band-Aid. She reached out and placed her uninjured hand softly on his forearm. "I had to slip a pair of cuffs," she said honestly.

Steve's eyes flashed with anger.

When he got her call saying she and Gabby were safe all he could think about was getting to her side. And when he finally laid eyes on her all he could think about was wrapping her in his arms and telling her he loves her, assuring himself she was real and not the product of his dreaming mind. And in those initial moments, that was enough. To feel her warmth, to touch her, to hear her say she loves him.

But now, for the first time since entering the office he allowed himself to really look at her. He raised his hand to her face and tenderly wiped away a blood streak from her cheek which appeared to be result of a small cut directly beneath her left eye. He wiped away a dirt smudge on her right jaw and found an angry bruise already forming underneath. His eyes continued down her body cataloging every mark, every welt, every injury no matter how small including a scrape he could see through the now torn right knee of her pants.

His eyes finally settled back on her now painfully swollen hand.

"Someone is going to pay," he said tightly, "for every cut, every bruise, and every mark on your body that wasn't there when you left for the courthouse."

Catherine smiled softly then leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. As a general rule she didn't like to encourage his caveman-like behavior on the rare occasions when it popped up but this time she understood where it was coming from. It was born of the helplessness he felt in the hours she and Gabby had been held. She was sure of that.

Uncertain of exactly what was going on with her, where she was, if she was okay. That kind of not knowing was, in its own way, worse than being in the middle of the situation. Because it gave his mind the chance, no matter how hard he tried to fight against it, to spin out worst case scenario after worst case scenario.

"Steve," she said softly and waited for him to stop focusing on the injuries and lift his eyes to meet hers, "I'm fine. It's okay."

Danny, who had been concentrating on nothing more than holding Gabby in his arms, thanking God she was alive and apologizing for getting her involved in this whole mess in the first place, raised his head at the sound of Steve's concerned voice.

"Are you okay, Cath?" he asked, looking over Gabby's shoulder without lessening his hold on her in the least. Her head rested contentedly on his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around him, making it clear she was in no hurry for him to let go.

"I'm fine," she assured him.

Steve retrieved the ice pack from the desk and replaced it gently on her hand then pulled her back into a hug, holding her tightly but at the same time being careful not to jostle her hand. "Thank God," he said as he kissed her on the temple.

He took several deep breaths and spoke again.

"But someone is still going to pay," he said resolutely.

"Well that doesn't bode well for me," Gabby said as she lifted her head off Danny's chest for the first time since he entered the office. She turned towards Steve and Catherine as Danny moved behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder, unwilling to let her out of his grip for even a minute.

"What do you mean?" Steve looked at her curiously.

"If you want to get technical," Gabby rested her hands on Danny's forearms, "I'm the one that broke Catherine's hand."

"What?" Steve and Danny asked in unison, looking disbelievingly between Catherine and Gabby.

"I told you, I don't think it's broken," Catherine reminded her.

"Fine, dislocated," Gabby clarified.

"Wait, you?" Steve asked.

"Why would you break Catherine's hand," Danny chimed in.

"Dislocate," Gabby corrected. "She keeps telling me it isn't broken."

"I told you," Catherine looked at Steve. "I had to slip a pair of cuffs. I needed to get to something across the room."

"It was actually really amazing," Gabby said, her voice tinged with awe. "She convinced one of the guys guarding us she needed a sleeping pill out of her purse." As she spoke her explanation became more animated, "And he brought it to her. But it wasn't really a sleeping pill, it was one of Cammie's pills." Gabby shook her head and smiled. "But the guy didn't know that. And then he got freaked out by a couple of loose tampons and he left the purse. Can you believe it?"

Danny smiled at her excited retelling. "What was in the purse that was so important?"

"My lipstick," Catherine said slyly, turning to meet Steve's eyes.

She could tell the second realization dawned.

"I knew that would come in handy someday," he smirked.

Gabby smiled at Steve. "I couldn't believe it worked. I mean at first I thought it sounded silly. But I should never have doubted her, or you for buying it for her, because it totally worked."

"Would someone care to clue me in," Danny asked. "What worked?"

"The lipstick stun gun Steve got me for Valentine's Day last year," Catherine chuckled.

"You got Catherine a stun gun for Valentine's Day," Danny asked incredulously. "What am I saying, of course you did."

"And after hearing this I'm getting her half a dozen more," Steve said.

"But it was hidden in a lipstick case, kind of like James Bond," Gabby looked over her shoulder at Danny, "and he didn't know what it was so he didn't take it. And Catherine needed to get to it …"

Suddenly Gabby's eyes turned darker and she recoiled slightly.

Catherine picked up the story.

"I couldn't reach it because of the cuffs," she said, keeping her voice as light as possible. "So I asked Gabby to help me out. To help us out. And she didn't want to do it but she did. She's a hero. Without her who knows what would have happened or where we'd be right now."

"What did you do?" Danny asked softly.

"Catherine asked me to stomp on her hand to break it so she could get it through the cuffs and get to her purse. So I did. Twice," Gabby said softly.

She looked at Danny, then Steve, trying to gauge their reactions. They could both could tell she felt awful about having hurt her friend, no matter how necessary it was.

Steve met her eyes. "Thank you," he said sincerely. "I know that must have been hard." He smiled at her to reassure her he understood. "You, I'll let off the hook, but everyone else still pays."

Gabby nodded, "I appreciate that. I'm considering throwing away my shoes though," she teased. "Because of the bad memories."

"I'll buy you a new pair of shoes," Steve said.

"They're Jimmy Choos," Catherine warned. "They cost a thousand dollars."

"Danny will buy you a new pair of shoes," Steve quickly added.

Catherine elbowed him as Danny and Gabby laughed. "What," he smiled at her, "we have a mortgage to think about now."

They were interrupted by a knock on the office door.

"Yeah?" Steve said, not moving from Catherine's side.

The door opened and Sergeant Duke Lukela poked his head in.

"What's up, Duke?" Steve asked.

"I just wanted to let you know we picked up two guys lurking around the back of the parking lot. An officer saw them dump something in the brush that turned out to be two automatic weapons. They weren't exactly tough nuts to crack. They admitted to working for Albanese and said they've been staying at a house on the other side of the ridge. I have a team on the way there now."

"Tell them to look in the basement," Catherine said, "my partner and I left two guys cuffed to a pole there."

Gabby raise her hand from across the room and gave Catherine a long-distance high five.

Steve shook his head. "Thanks, Duke. Can you do me a favor and hold all four. I'm gonna want to talk to them myself."

"Steve," Catherine said warningly.

"What," he tried and failed to put on an innocent face. "They might have some vital information."

"Yeah, I think I better be with you when you talk to them," Danny said. "For the information."

"I think that's a good idea," Steve nodded in agreement.

Catherine smiled at Gabby. "Seriously, these two need a handler."

"Lucky for me I have you to keep me in line," Steve said. "Now let's get to the hospital and get that hand x-rayed.

* * *

**Queens Hospital Emergency Room**

**Friday 1:20 A.M.**

Steve made his way back down the long, white-tiled hallway towards the curtained off treatment areas of the ER. Despite the fact that he was bone-tired and against Grace's explicit directions hadn't had a decent meal in days, he felt like a man on top of the world.

Catherine was safe. And so was Gabby. That was the most important thing. They were no longer in the hands of a ruthless serial killer.

Now they could concentrate all their energy on finding Patsy Albanese.

As Steve turned towards Catherine's treatment room, where she had given him her word she would stay no matter what until he got back, he saw Gabby heading in his direction. She was staring straight ahead and seemed a million miles away.

"Everything ok?" he asked. "You look a little lost."

"I'm fine," she assured him, shaking her head as if to dislodge the cobwebs. "I think everything is just catching up with me all at once. I need to call my boss in Denver and let him I'm ok."

"You need a phone?" Steve asked, prepared to offer his.

"No, I have Danny's," she pulled it out of her pocket and held it up, "Thanks though."

"No problem." It seemed as though Gabby had something more to say so Steve waited, but after a few awkward seconds she was still silent. "I'll let you get to it then," he smiled as he started back the hall.

"Steve?" she said when he was a few steps away.

He turned and moved back towards her. "Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say … " she picked nervously at the hem of her shirt, not sure why she was having so much trouble saying what was on her mind.

"What?" he asked with soft smile and suddenly Gabby saw it.

Just a flash.

But it was there.

The soft Steve, the one with his guard down. She looked in his eyes and saw genuine happiness that she was okay and a desire to do anything he could to help get over what had happened. This was the side of Steve she'd heard Danny and Catherine talk about. The side that let you know he was letting you in.

And suddenly she wasn't nervous in the least about opening up to him anymore.

"I'm sure I don't need to tell you this," she smiled and leaned against the wall, "but I feel like I have to anyway. Like I want to."

"What?" He leaned against the wall beside her. "Is everything ok?"

"Everything's fine," she nodded. "I just wanted to say … Catherine was great today."

Steve smiled broadly.

"I mean like above and beyond great," Gabby continued. "I hear Danny say all the time how impressed he is with her as an officer, and as a person. And you know I think Catherine is great. But until today, inside my head, she was just my friend Catherine."

Steve nodded and waited, sensing she wasn't quite through yet.

"I was just … halfway to losing my mind I think," Gabby said honestly. "I mean this guy who just a couple days ago was talking to me about a prestigious job is now all of the sudden threatening to hurt innocent people on the sidewalk if we don't get in his car and telling me he has plans to kill you and Danny."

"Gabby," Steve said sympathetically, "I know the last day has been hard."

"You're right. It has been," Gabby smiled, wanting him to understand that while she might not be perfectly okay in this minute, she would be. She just needed a little time to process everything. "And the only thing that got me through it, and I truly believe this, was Catherine. She kept a cool head, she had a plan, she told me exactly what she needed from me in a way that I could get my mind around even though I was half crazy, and then … " Gabby trailed off.

"What?" Steve asked encouragingly.

"There was something about the way she … I don't know … she looked at me like she believed I could do it, 100%, and like the thought that I would fail never crossed her mind."

"I'm familiar with that look," Steve smiled. "It's very powerful."

"It's like a shot of something magical," Gabby teased.

"That it is," Steve agreed.

"Because all of the sudden I was breaking hands, and cuffing suspects, and running through the woods … three things I would have sworn to you twenty-four hours ago I wasn't capable of."

"Catherine has a way of bringing out the best in people," Steve said with a look of pride on his face.

"I don't know if I would have had the strength to ask someone to break my hand to get out of a pair of cuffs," Gabby said truthfully. "But she was determined."

"I think people are usually surprised at what they find out they can do in a life-and-death situation," Steve said.

"You're probably right," Gabby nodded. "But when Catherine asked me to break her hand so we could get out she wasn't focused on saving our lives, I mean … I know it's hard to take the word of a killer when he says he isn't going to harm you but still … at that point we knew that Albanese was after Danny and you."

Gabby paused and looked at Steve, hoping he understood what she was trying to say. Catherine didn't ask Gabby to break her hand to save her own life, she did it to save Steve's.

Gabby saw that realization hit him full force.

"Thanks," he said, his voice choked with emotion.

"I just thought you should know," Gabby said.

She smiled and held up Danny's phone. "Well I better go leave my message so the boss gets it first thing."

She started down the hallway and this time is was Steve who spoke again, "Gabby?"

"Yeah?"

"Danny's been really happy since you came back, well … you know … before all this," Steve laughed and Gabby smiled. "I really hope you get that job."

* * *

**Queens Hospital Emergency Room**

**Friday 1:20 A.M.**

Danny poked his head in the curtained area where Catherine sat waiting for the doctor to return with the results of her x-ray.

"How you doin, Hon? he asked.

"I'm good Danny," Catherine smiled. "How are you? Is Gabby ok?" her voice held a hint of alarm. At some point Gabby was gonna suffer through a pretty big adrenaline dump and Catherine knew how unpleasant those could be, especially for someone not accustomed to dealing with high-adrenaline situations on any kind of regular basis.

"Yeah, she's fine. She went to call her boss in Denver."

"She did great in there today. Really great." Catherine smiled broadly. "You would have been proud of her."

"She seems like she's dealing with it pretty well … right now at least," Danny said. "I mean you're both safe … thank God … I think she's romanticizing it a little and looking at it like an adventure."

"It's her way of coping," Catherine nodded. "And actually I think it's a pretty healthy way for someone in her position to handle it."

"You're probably right," Danny agreed. "But you know … the reality is gonna hit in a day or two … what happened and what could have happened."

Danny's eyes grew dark.

"But we're both fine," Catherine reminded him. "And lucky for her she knows a few people with some experience dealing with this kind of situation who'll be able to help her through it. The most important thing she needs to remember is that she made it out ok."

"Thanks to her chewy shoes," Danny teased.

"Her Jimmy Choo shoes," Catherine laughed. "And luckily she was wearing a chunky heel. Because a stiletto would have been very painful for me."

"I have no idea what that means," Danny shook his head.

"I know you don't," Catherine chuckled.

Danny hopped up on the table beside her.

"I just wanted to say … thanks Cath. For looking after Gabby. For getting her back safe," he tossed an arm casually across her shoulders. "For getting yourself back safe."

"All I could think about the whole time after we found out what Albanese was planning," Catherine said solemnly, "was getting out of there to warn you and Steve that the two of you were next on his list. Thankfully Gabby was there to help. But if she wasn't I would have chewed off my own hand to get out if I had to."

"That would have been gross," Danny grimaced.

Catherine nodded. "Which is why I'm glad it didn't come to that."

Danny squeezed her shoulder. He knew without a doubt there was nothing Catherine wouldn't do to get to Steve if she knew he was in danger. And he also knew the reverse was 100% true as well.

"I texted Rachel and told her everything was fine," Danny said. "She said Grace has been waking up every hour or so and asking if there was any news so Rachel is gonna tell her next time she gets up. I'm sure she'll want to call you right away."

"I can't wait to talk to her," Catherine smiled.

"She'll also want to tell Steve 'I told you so'." Danny smirked, making it clear he wanted to be there when it happened.

"What do you mean?" Catherine asked curiously.

"She told him," Danny hopped down off the table when they heard Steve's voice greeting someone he knew. The minute he was back in the room Danny had no doubt he would be right back up on the table by Catherine's side. "She knew you were coming home safe because you promised her you weren't going away and you always keep your promises."

* * *

**Queens Hospital Emergency Room**

**Friday 1:45 A.M.**

After looking at the x-rays, and consulting with a second physician at Steve's request "just to be sure", Catherine's doctor returned with the news, as she expected, that two of her knuckles were dislocated but none were broken. He taped her hand and instructed her not to punch anyone if she could help it for at least two weeks.

"I'll do my best," she promised.

Steve and Catherine exited the curtained off area to find Gabby and Danny sitting on hard plastic chairs waiting.

"You didn't have to hang around, Gabby," Catherine said as she hugged her friend. "You must be exhausted."

"Actually I'm kind of getting my second wind," Gabby smiled. "And besides Danny said I'm not allowed out of his sight. Though I have been promised the possibility of a hot shower in the locker room when we get back to the office."

"Well, he's gonna have to take his eyes off you there," Catherine teased, "Because that's the first place I'm headed too and I'm sorry Danny but I'd rather you didn't watch us shower."

"Can I?" Steve asked eagerly.

"No," Catherine elbowed him. "Stop being a pig."

"Catherine you just mentioned you and Gabby taking a shower," Steve said. "Every straight man in this hospital wants to watch."

When they were almost to the door Catherine glanced to her right and saw Duke sitting in the waiting room. "Is everything okay?" she asked worriedly as he stood and approached them.

"Oh yeah, fine," Duke said, but Catherine noticed he couldn't quite meet her eyes. "I came in with a couple of suspects."

She looked at Steve and Danny then back at Duke suspiciously.

"A couple of suspects, huh," she asked as she took note of some scrapes on his knuckles. Suddenly neither Steve not Danny could meet her eyes either. "What suspects?"

"In the … uh … Albanese case," Duke mumbled.

"What happened to them?" Catherine asked firmly.

"They resisted arrest." Duke's face was a mask of innocence.

"All four of them?" Catherine asked skeptically.

"It was the strangest thing," Duke nodded. "One minute my guys were escorting them to a holding cell and the next minute a melee broke out."

"Did you put him up to this," Catherine asked Steve.

"No, he didn't," Duke said as his spine straightened and he looked Catherine directly in the eyes. "Some men just need to be taught a lesson about how to treat women."

Catherine smiled and hugged Duke. "Thank you. But you shouldn't have done that. What if you get in trouble?"

"Totally worth it," Duke smiled. "I haven't had that much fun in years."

* * *

**Five -0 Headquarters**

**Friday 2:10 A.M.**

After returning to Five-0 headquarters and enjoying a tearful, and heartfelt, reunion with Chin and Kono Catherine grabbed her go bag and headed for the showers. She assured Gabby they'd be able to find something for her to wear as well. The dirt and the sweat of their run for freedom combined with the antiseptic smell of the hospital which hung all over them made both women desperate for a shower.

Danny and Steve moved to Steve's office in an attempt to get in a little rest before what they knew would be another busy day. Catherine and Gabby said that Albanese had been very clear, whatever final act he had planned would take place on the anniversary of his brother's death, September 26th.

They weren't sure how he was planning to contact them, but they knew it was coming.

"Steve, we might have a break," Chin said as he charged into the office.

He and Kono stayed behind and continued the hunt for Albanese once they realized Catherine and Gabby were mostly unhurt and more importantly that HPD, in an attempt to try to make sure Albanese didn't find out the women had escaped, was planning on selling the occurrence at Jirou Ko's Foodland as a kitchen fire.

That would be a much harder sell if the entire Five-0 team was present. Luckily, before the news cameras arrived, Duke had the presence of mind to move the Camaro to the back of the building in an area that was effectively blocked to traffic by other emergency vehicles so it was out of sight of the media's prying eyes.

"What have you got?" Steve asked, instantly reenergized in a way that only a new lead in a big case could do.

"You remember how Fields said Albanese wanted the exact machine that killed his nephew transported here?" Chin asked as he waved a few sheets of paper excitedly in Steve's direction.

"Yeah," Steve said.

"Well, it turns out that particular machine is huge. Like special permits and special moving equipment huge," Chin grinned.

"So we know where it is?" Steve asked hopefully.

"We were able to track a shipment that we think was it, in fact we're about 90% sure was it, to a warehouse in Honolulu which is rented to a man named Dorian Leonard of … wait for it ... Palm Beach Florida."

"Palm Beach?" Danny, who had been laying on the couch, suddenly shot straight up.

"Yep. And get this, he's a former law partner of Albanese who got disbarred a few years back for stealing money from his clients and then forging their signatures to try to get out of it. Since then he's been working off and on doing odd jobs for Albanese."

"Do we think he's the one who sent the fake death report?" Danny asked with equal parts hope and anger. He knew finding out the specifics of who'd been messing with his life, and how, would go a long way towards helping get the mess he was in straightened out, but at the same time he couldn't help but be angry that anyone would go to such lengths.

"It's certainly a strong possibility," Chin said. "The PBPD has him under surveillance. They're not gonna pick him up yet because we don't want to tip off Albanese that his plan is unraveling."

"What about the four guys we arrested this morning?" Steve asked.

"Well, for right now they're all at Queens being treated for injuries suffered in an escape attempt," Chin tried and failed to conceal a smile. "As far as we can tell Albanese is totally in the dark about them too. That house is in a cell service dead zone. So unless he actually comes back there he has no way of knowing Catherine and Gabby are safe and his men are in custody. And Duke has men on the house in case he does come back"

"What about the news?" Steve asked.

"We got it covered," Chin replied. "Jirou and his employees are going along with the story that they had a small grease fire in the kitchen."

"Remind me we owe them a big thanks," Steve said.

"Other than that," Chin shrugged, "our official position, and that of HPD, is that we have nothing new to report."

"If he gets wind he'll go underground," Danny warned. "And with his money and connections we may never find him."

"We're not gonna let that happen," Steve said. "Chin, Let me know what they find out about the warehouse and have Kono touch base with the hospital and make sure we don't get any leaks from there that Catherine and Gabby are safe."

"Will do," Chin said as he headed back to his office.

"This may actually all be over very soon," Steve exhaled heavily.

"Can't be soon enough for me," Danny said.

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Friday 10:00 A.M.**

After getting much needed showers, calling family to assure them that despite what the news might be reporting both women were safe but that that fact needed to be kept quiet for right now until they got Albanese in custody, then enjoying a hot meal that tasted heavenly even though it was out of a takeout container, Catherine and Gabby settled down on the couch in Steve's office to recount every detail of their conversation with Patsy Albanese.

They sat cross-legged on the couch, side by side, while Danny sat in one of the visitors' chairs and Steve sat behind his desk. Both men had a legal pad in front of them jotting down notes about any fact they thought was particularly important.

"He said he thinks you pushed too hard to get his nephew Angelo jail time as a punishment because he wouldn't turn state's evidence on his family," Catherine explained.

"Yeah," Gabby recalled. There were moments during the debriefing when her mind had taken her right back into that room and she felt that same fear and uncertainly again but then Danny and Steve would smile encouragingly and Catherine would reach across and squeeze her hand and Gabby would compose herself and go on. She was sure a lot of her issues could be solved by a good night's sleep but she had no intention of going back to her hotel until she was certain Patricio Albanese was no longer a threat to Danny. "He said that the kid's lawyer could have worked out a deal for parole but you pushed for jail time."

"I was doing my job," Danny said angrily. "The kid got caught with a station wagon packed full of semi-automatic weapons … red handed … making the deal with an undercover cop. There's no way he was every getting just parole. He's lucky two years was all he got."

"I know," Gabby said softly. "I didn't believe anything he was saying."

"Still, he's clearly decided, for whatever reason, right or wrong, to focus on you," Catherine said. "He claims if it wasn't for you none of this would ever have happened."

"He said it's why he saved the final punishment for you," Gabby added.

"He feels guilty for not helping his brother," Catherine said. "And for the fact that they weren't speaking when Vitorio died."

"Whose fault is that," Steve said unsympathetically. "According to Peter Fields, Arthur Fogelsong heard Vitorio wasn't doing well and went to visit. If the man he was suing could go surely his brother could go."

"He said he couldn't go against Amber Curry," Gabby shrugged. "He was in love with her."

"No, he wasn't in love with her." Steve picked disgustedly through the files sent in by detectives working the cases of the other victims and extracted a picture of the mutilated body of Amber Curry. "You don't cut someone up like this if you love them."

He was careful to keep the picture turned away from Gabby's view. She hadn't seen any of the mutilated corpses yet and as far as Steve was concerned she never needed to.

"I'm not saying he's rational," Catherine shrugged. "But he said he's trying to make amends to his brother, even after death."

Gabby's hands began to twist nervously in her lap. "He said he wants you," she looked at Danny, "to have to make the same choice he made. The woman you love or the man you love like a brother. Those were his exact words."

"Yeah, well that sick bastard isn't in control anymore," Danny said. "We're doing things on our terms now."

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Friday 2:00 P.M.**

"Steve, we found it," Chin said definitively as he approached the rest of the team who were standing at the smart table reviewing every available piece of information about Patsy Albanese.

"Where?" Steve asked excitedly.

"Right where we thought it was," Chin smiled.

"Guards?" Danny asked.

"SWAT says two on the perimeter but none in the building itself. But it gets even better. There's a small storage shed that connects to the warehouse next door. Grover talked to the owner of that place. He said the previous owner used both warehouses but now it's been broken up into two separate units. The storage shed is included with his. There's a door into Albanese's warehouse though. He hasn't used it in years but as far as he knows no one has changed the locks."

"Excellent," Steve rubbed his hands together. "See if they can in there and look around without anyone knowing."

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Friday 4:00 P.M.**

Steve quickly answered his phone, from his position at the smart table still reviewing evidence, when he saw the call was from Lou Grover.

"What's up, Lou?" he asked.

"We got it, Steve," Grover said jubilantly.

"What do you mean we got it?" Steve asked, needing to be absolutely positive.

"We were able to get the bomb squad into the building and they rendered the bomb non-functional," Lou responded.

"Are they sure?"

"What do you mean are they sure?" Lou groused. "This is the bomb squad. They don't do maybe."

"Good point," Steve grinned. "And great work."

He turned to the rest of the team. "The bomb is disabled. Whatever Albanese thinks is going to happen tonight, he's in for a big surprise when it doesn't."

* * *

**Five-0 Headquarters**

**Friday 6:00 P.M.**

Steve and Danny were starting to get nervous that they hadn't heard from Albanese yet. They were afraid he'd somehow got wind of Catherine and Gabby's escape and had gone on the run. That would be the worst possible outcome. A man with his connections and money could hide anywhere in the world.

And he was clearly willing to kill anyone he felt stood in his way.

They definitely needed to catch him and it needed to be today.

Suddenly the fax machine buzzed with the familiar sound of an arriving fax.

Steve pulled it out of the tray immediately and read it aloud.

_Detective Williams,_

_Meet me at Warehouse 17 on Dock 12. _

_9:00P.M. _

_Only you and Commander McGarrett or Dr. Asano and Lieutenant Rollins will die._

* * *

**Warehouse 17 Dock 12**

**Friday 9:00 P.M.**

After much vigorous debate between herself and Steve it was agreed that Catherine would accompany the team to the staging area inside the warehouse next door but that, because of her wounded hand, she would not be part of the assault team itself. Once he knew Catherine would be in the building next door, in the company of various SWAT agents, and was reassured once again that the bomb had been deactivated, Danny agreed to allow Gabby to come along as well and listen to what was going on through the audio feeds from the safety of the building next door.

Even so, he insisted she wear a Kevlar vest or the deal was off.

Steve and Danny arrived precisely at 9:00 P.M. and entered through the open front door of the warehouse. The space was empty aside from a large orange machine that both men assumed was an automated harvester though neither had ever laid eyes on one before.

"Well, well Detective Williams," Patricio Albanese said as he stepped out of the shadows with his hands in the air to show he was unarmed. "I've wanted to meet you for a very long time."

"Well, here I am," Danny said. "Now tell me what you want."

"So impatient," Patsy clucked. "But perhaps you're right. There's no need to drag this out. Let's get right to it."

"Please," Steve said as he sensed more than saw members of the SWAT team moving into place.

"You, Detective Williams, set the events in motion that have brought us all here." Patsy put his arms to the side and indicated both the empty warehouse and the large machine.

"I was only doing my job," Danny said flatly.

"And look where it got us," Albanese scowled. "Because one cop wanted to make a name for himself busting a mob family all these people had to die."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Danny fought to keep his voice even. "Angelo was going to jail no matter what I said. Parole was a pipe dream and whatever lawyer sold you that was a fool."

"Well, I guess we'll never really know now, will we?" Patsy spat out. "And besides that's all water under the bridge. Angelo's fate isn't what we're here about. We're here to finish the revenge my brother never got a chance to complete."

"You could have picked up the lawsuit," Steve pointed out. "You could have given your brother the day in court he wanted so badly."

"My brother wanted revenge for his only son's death. He thought the only way to get it was through that lawsuit," Patsy sneered. "It became the only thing that mattered to him in the world."

"It wasn't going to bring Angelo back," Danny said.

"You know what's funny," Patsy said as he moved closer to one of the machine's giant openings.

"About this situation?" Danny said. "Absolutely nothing."

"Vitorio was so focused on the lawsuit because he said he thought this was a case that couldn't be handled the old fashioned way. This time he wanted to give the legal system a chance to dole out punishment. Pants, he told me, there's no way to kill everybody involved this time so I have to take a different approach."

"It sounds like for once he was trying to do things the right way," Steve said.

"Ironic, huh?" Patsy snorted, a bit of the old neighborhood accent coming out. "And when he wanted to do that who did he come to? His little brother Pants. A man who spent his life inside the system. Avoided the family business. And I let him down."

"He had a good attorney," Danny said.

He had an attorney who wanted his money," Patsy snapped angrily. "Nothing more. He didn't have passion for the case. He didn't even care if he won. He just kept billing and billing and bleeding my brother dry. His financial life fell apart in a matter of months. You know what that feels like now, don't you Detective Williams?"

Steve saw Danny's jaw twitch but his partner maintained control.

"You would have handled the case differently?" Steve asked, attempting to give Danny a minute to regroup.

"You're damn right I would have," Patsy said, more and more of the old neighborhood coming out every minute. It's was as if in a strange way he was becoming his brother. "I would have made them all pay. Instead my brother died of a broken heart because his son was dead and his only brother chose love over him."

"You can't change the past either." Danny's anger was beginning to escalate. "All those mutilated bodies and still Angelo and Vitorio are dead. That isn't going to change."

"Maybe not," Patsy conceded. "But I can set some things right. I can show my brother I still have respect for the old ways. He thought he couldn't kill everyone involved. I proved him wrong."

"I have to ask," Steve said. "How did Eddie Garza fit in?"

Patsy laughed. "Eddie was the one person I felt bad about killing. He was so … earnest. He was working for a non-profit in New Jersey. He'd just left a job working for some Kansas state senator and he thought Jersey was the big time. He was looking to make a name for himself. Not for personal gain. The guy was a true do-gooder at heart.

I saw him at a party one night and he was giving me the hard sell on this idea his boss had for Vocational Training for Prisoners. I wanted to give the kid a win so I took it to Amber. She agreed to fund it. Then two years later that same program kills my nephew."

Steve shook his head. "I don't think it's Danny you want to punish. I think it's yourself. Not only did you not help your brother when he asked but the program that killed your nephew might never have been up and running in the first place if you hadn't used pillow talk to persuade your married lover to fund it."

"You may be right Commander, but none of that matter anymore. We are where we are. Detective Williams has felt some of the pain my brother felt watching his financial life fall apart and now he will feel the pain I felt. You need to choose, Detective. Either you deliver your partner to me," he indicated the machine behind him, "and his fate, or the lovely ladies waiting at a secured location are dead. It's that simple."

In reality Patsy's plan was that none of them walk out of that warehouse alive. He had rigged the machine so as soon as the engine started the entire warehouse, in fact the entire block of warehouses, would explode in a fireball.

But Detective Williams didn't have to know that yet.

First Patsy wanted him to feel the pain of the decision.

"That's not happening tonight," Steve said smugly.

Suddenly the lights on the upper level turned on and Albanese looked up and saw SWAT officers ringing the balcony.

"Your women are dead," Patsy screamed angrily

"Lieutenant Rollins and Dr. Asano are safe," Danny said with a broad smile. "They escaped, on their own, last night."

"This isn't how this was supposed to end," Albanese shrieked. "But maybe it's better. Now I can take half the police on Oahu with me."

Albanese pressed the remote starter in his hand and the harvesting machine roared to life.

But there was no explosion.

He turned and looked at Danny and Steve.

"How dare you! How dare you rob me of this!" he screamed uncontrollably.

With a wild look in his eyes he turned, and before anyone could reach him, walked directly into the whirling blades.

* * *

**McGarrett/Rollins House**

**The following Saturday 3:00 P.M**

It had been a week since Patsy Albanese saved the state of Hawaii, and multiple other states, the expense of trial by walking into the whirring blades of the same automated harvesting machine that killed his nephew.

In the ensuing week, Dorian Leonard was arrested in Palm Beach and confessed to both sending the fake death notice to the state of Hawaii and forging the loan documents that formed the basis of Danny's foreclosure. His confession, along with proof of Albanese's revenge plot, was enough for Greg Howell to get a judge to sign off on an order vacating both matters immediately.

By Wednesday morning Danny was officially alive again, and therefore back on the payroll, and his house was no longer in danger of being sold out from under him. The Academy of the Sacred Heart, after hiring an independent investigator, located Danny's tuition payments which were in a shadow account being managed by the their former security company, Airtight Security.

On Thursday morning Nahua Noelani called Gabby, apologized profusely for the actions of Patricio Albanese, then offered her the job of Curator of the Thaddeus and Omega Clifford Collection. After consulting with friends and family she accepted. Her contract in Denver ran through the end of the year but in January Gabby would be moving back to Hawaii full-time.

She felt ready.

The following Saturday the team gathered at Steve and Catherine's for what Danny dubbed an "It's Officially Both Of Your House-now-warming Party".

"You're right. It's stunning," Gabby said as she stood in the kitchen and stared at the backsplash. "I mean how do you ever leave this room? I would just stand here looking at it all the time."

"And the best part is …" Catherine said before she found her voice unexpectedly choked with emotion.

"What?" Gabby asked softly.

"Well the best part is …" Catherine tried again.

"How much trouble Uncle Steve went to so Auntie Cath could have exactly what she wanted," Grace said as she entered to get another plate for Steve who was finishing up the cooking.

"Exactly," Catherine smiled. "And also how much trouble Grace went to to make sure the surprise didn't get spoiled."

Steve took the remaining food off the grill and the entire family, and yes they were a family, maybe not by blood, all of them, but in every way that counted, Steve, Catherine, Danny, Grace, Gabby, who everyone was happy they'd be seeing more of in the new year, Grover, Samantha, Chin, Leilani, Kono, Adam, Duke, Kamekona and of course Scout and Cammie, gathered for dinner.

Steve and Catherine looked around the table at family and friends with huge smiles.

"We all pitched in and bought you something as a happy mortgage present," Danny said as he handed Steve a box.

"We didn't agree to call it a mortgage present," Lou argued. "It's a housewarming present."

"These two warm this house up enough," Danny said. "It's a welcome to the world of debt like the rest of us present."

Catherine smiled. "You didn't have to do that."

She and Steve opened the box and Catherine's hand flew to her mouth.

"It's gorgeous," she whispered.

"We had it made to match your backsplash," Danny said shyly. "We thought you could hang it in your kitchen."

Catherine removed the beautiful hand etched black metal rectangular sign from its packaging and ran her finger across the ornate lettering.

'_A Happy Family is But an Earlier Heaven.'_

"Here's to 30 years of happy family and joint debt," Steve toasted.

**THE END**

* * *

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